Connie (Pickens) Menna was born on August 3, 1955 in Monroe, Michigan. She was the second child of Clyde and Beverly (Rhoades) Pickens.

She was a 1973 graduate of Jefferson High School in Monroe. In 1983, she received bachelor's and master's degrees in social work and education from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Connie worked for Community Care Services and Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Monroe County. She also taught school at Trenton High School and Aquinas High School.

On November 29, 1980, she married Joseph Menna and they had one daughter.

 In 1990, Connie died at the age of 35 in St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The cause of death was complications of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. She is buried at Michigan Memorial Park in Flat Rock, Michigan.