Laura’s Early Years

PART 1

FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD

1879 – 1899

A Remarkable Woman

It is in Cairo, Egypt, end of winter 1935. An elegantly-dressed American woman is waiting in the lobby of a luxury hotel with charming and convincing simplicity. During this stay her hotel room so overflowed with flowers that she could not move easily about in it. Three dozen Easter lilies had also been sent to her room. This is Shepheard’s Hotel in downtown Cairo, a historic hotel, the playground of the international aristocracy.1 The hotel’s guestbook is a Who’s Who of dignitaries. It is steeped in history. Every person of social standing wants to have tea here, to see and to be seen in the lobby. Kings and queens, crown princes and presidents have stayed here. Among the famous people who have stayed here is the celebrated explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who was in love with this woman’s mother when she was a teenager.

This elegant woman has just arrived from Alexandria. Even though she is in the sixth decade of her life, her youthful face glows with intelligence and kindness. This fascinating woman speaks French in a refined voice without an accent that would otherwise betray her American origin. She has put her roots down in France to serve a greater homeland, that of men of goodwill who pursue selfless and impressive ‘adventures of the spirit’. This adventurous woman is transplanted to France but she never had to choose between her two homelands. She believes that one is never without roots when one can serve the greater homeland. On both sides of the ocean, she surrounds herself with spiritual people, artists and intellectuals.

This elite woman has an astonishing personality and lucid intelligence. She knows ‘how to think globally’ at a time when so much hatred and so many minds make brothers into enemies, once again threatening the return of war. She has already seen a world war and its victims. For her vital, selfless service to the refugees and injured of the greatest conflict the world had yet seen, she was awarded the title of Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

This extraordinary woman is a never-tiring traveler who has visited distant lands extensively to bring understanding between peoples and had used her feminist ideals for peace. She is a wonderful liaison between nations as she travels to work with others to establish social justice, to promote women’s rights, and to unite the world to bring about peace and harmony. Her life is devoted to bringing together

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