Born to Romulus Adolphus Windes and Magadalene Ann Reid, Arizona's State Vital records accidentally listed Windes as a "female" at birth and omitted part of his name.
[3] Windes married Hope G. Anderson, they had three sons, Dudley, Honor and John.
Windes studied law at Indiana University, graduating in 1914.
After taking a break from his law career during World War I to serve as American vice consul in Madrid, Spain, Windes returned to Tempe to continues practicing law until 1923, when he became a judge on the Maricopa County Superior Court, forcing him to move within the Phoenix city limits.
[8] He is buried in Double Butte Cemetery in Tempe, Arizona.