Mendenhall Family - Francis X. , wife Catherine, son F. Xavier and daughter Elizabeth Mendenhall Place, Orion Bay
First rising to distinction during the Second Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s, the Mendenhall Family was among the glittering social elite that gilded the Gilded Age. Unlike other prominent families of this era, the Vanderbilts, the Astors and the DuPonts, the Mendenhall’s managed to maintain their wealth and status through the intervening century by never forgetting the hard work and ingenuity that placed them among American aristocracy.
Francis Xavier, a fourth generation Mendenhall, married Catherine Wingate of the Wingate Shipping empire after graduating from law school and inheriting the family home on Mendenhall Place in Orion Bay. Just like his father, Francis is a hard man, serious to a fault with little time for play, who wakes early to go into the office every morning where he represents the interests of the family and oversees the philanthropic efforts of the Mendenhall Foundation. He will tolerate no less than the same intensity of work ethic from his wife and from his children, who will one day inherit the family fortune.
Update! After being caught on film with his mistress / administrative assistant Shelly Placer, Francis’ plans to divorce his wife fell through and he has been trapped into allowing their marriage to continue. For a little while, Francis dealt with the situation but after his elder birthday and the birth of a new daughter by his mistress, he left home to be with his new family.
Catherine (Wingate) Mendenhall, daughter of shipping magnate William Wingate & Jane (Astor) Wingate, has used her social connections to increase the visibility and financial health of the Mendenhall Foundation. Her latest endowment to Hunter College allowed for the construction of a new state of the art, dormitory for incoming freshmen. It is likely not an accident that the timing of the donation coincided with the application of both of her children to the college.
Update! After struggling with an alcohol problem for years, Catherine successfully completed the program at Horizon’s Rehabilitation Center in Rigel Heights and returned to her former home in Orion Bay after thwarting her husband’s attempts to divorce her but found that they were destined to be apart when he moved out to be with his mistress and her new child. Since her husband’s exit, Catherine has fallen off the wagon and back into the bottle.
Update! After years of abusing her liver, Catherine Mendenhall passed away at her home.
Francis Xavier, called Xavier to eliminate confusion with his father, has fallen far short of his father’s aspirations for him. Most of young Xavier’s life is spent in the pursuit of pleasure, communing with nature, playing music or more often than not, convincing someone to make him a grilled cheese. His slovenly appearance and refusal to buckle to familial pressure to achieve has often led to late night disagreements between his father, who sees him as a slacker, and his mother, who prefers to think that he will grow out of this rebellious, angst-filled phase. Xavier has gone college
Update! Xavier returned from college engaged to a girl his father did not approve of. He has since gone to live with his fiance and her mother in their home in Orion Bay.
Elizabeth is the child Francis wishes Xavier would be. Though she often has her nose in a book, academics come easy to her and she has never fallen below an A average even with her after school job taking up much of her study time. She is social like her mother, a hard-worker like her father and nothing like her slightly older brother. Elizabeth has gone to college
Update! After returning home from college, Elizabeth took the position of Vice President at Mendenhall Enterprises, where she worked under the tutelage of her father until his retirement when she assumed full control of the company. She discovered the location of the daughter she gave up for adoption and has rekindled a romance with the child’s father.