She and her husband, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, had taken their motorcade across the French countryside to visit the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge and stop in at a few other cemeteries from the 1914-18 war.
But the small one on a winding road by the town of Barlin was special. Buried there is Laureen's great uncle, Pte. James Edward Teskey, who died of wounds suffered in the battle of Arras in 1917. He was 19.
Laureen wiped away tears as she studied the pale headstone along with her husband. She placed flowers on the grave and made a rubbing of the inscription on the headstone.
Later, the prime minister toured Vimy, where Ottawa is spending $20 million to repair the towering memorial.
Harper walked through the preserved battle trenches nearby. But, with news photograhers following his every step, he seemed a bit preoccupied with his sometimes strained relations with Canada's media.
As they recorded his exit from one trench, Harper looked at the photogs and mused about the war fought here 90 years ago. Back then, he said, "the enemies had guns, not cameras."
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