One of the downfalls of research is that it eventually leads to terrible incidents and tragedies. This idyllic 1930s photo of Laura Mundo's niece Constance Mundo and her pup Chummy on the beach belies some of the issues which would later confront her as a mother.
In January of 1959, at the age of 35, she gave birth to a son with her husband Robert Wheeler. Less than two years later and just before New Year's Eve 1960 she became despondent and slit her wrists. After treatment she was released to her parents, which suggests some marital problems.
A decade later she was arrested for marijauna possession. Which for our time and even hers wasn't uncommon except that she was nearing 50 at the time and didn't fit the typical demographic for the charge.
While some would suggest that this behavior coupled with Laura's erratic ideas presents a pattern of so-called mental illness in the family but I'm not convinced that such concepts are that cut and dried. Constance seemingly evened out after the latter incident and lived to be 77.
Chummy, lived the clean life of a dog and had no arrests on his record.
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