Leonard A. "Big Len" Mendes

Leonard A. Mendes was a resident of Lemoore, Ca for 73 years. Leonard passed away peacefully on Sept. 12, 2025 in Hanford, Ca. He was born in Riverdale, Ca on Sept 21, 1930 at home on his family's ranch. He attended Riverdale Elementary and Riverdale High School. He served in the United States Army, upon Honorable Discharge he returned to Riverdale, Ca. where he met the love of his life Dorla Salmon Mendes. Dorla and Leonard were married for 47 years. Leonard was first employed by Kings County Creamery where he served as Production Manager until the time it closed, and he moved onto Foremost Creamery which is now known as Leprino Foods. He happily retired in 1995.

Leonard loved to camp and fly fish, when he was younger, he dreamed of becoming a Forest Ranger. He passed on his love of nature to as many relatives and friends that wanted to come along and camp, sometimes having as many as 30 people. Leonard also loved to watch his children and grandchildren participate in sports and would often switch his days off so he could attend and cheer them on. Leonard earned his Eagle Scout Badge and had the privilege of sharing his joy of scouting with his great grandson Anthony Mendes who earned his Eagle Scout Badge just last year. Leonard and Dorla were great pranksters and could often be found hiding large rocks at the home of Don and Geneva Bangston. There were also midnight missions when they would hide double yolked eggs under hens at the home of Al and Delores Sutherland, just a few of their fun adventures together. He was also an avid reader and had in his possession the entire collection of leather-bound Louis L'Amour books. Leonard was also a California Dairy milk bottle collector, with over 600 bottles which were show cased in a room all their own. He spent many weekends searching for bottles with his brother Gene Mendes and his cousin Gene Martin.

Leonard is survived by his 4 children, David (Diana) Mendes, Mark Mendes of Lemoore, Ca. Valarie (Wayne)Crump of Hot Spring Village, Ar., Denise (Brian) Little of Hanford, Ca. He has 8 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and 1 expected any day.

Leonard is preceded in death by his parents Frank and Mary Mendes, his brother Gene Mendes, his wife Dorla Mendes, and his sons-in-law Manual Rose Jr. and Tim Kerns.

There will be a viewing at Phipps-Dale Funeral Chapel in Lemoore on Wednesday September 24th from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, followed by a graveside service at Lemoore Cemetery 1441 N Lemoore Ave. Lemoore, Ca 93245.

Big Len was an avid fan of both San Fransico 49'ers and the Giants teams. Please honor his memory by wearing either of the SF teams or any bright color of your choice.

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations be made to Koinonia Church Hanford, Ca. in care of their Missions Program. Koinonia Church P.O. Box 1378 Hanford, Ca 93232