Laura (McLeod) Loutitt was born March 2, 1904 in Fort Nelson. She was the oldest child to parents Fred and Margaret (Firth) McLeod, and the oldest of 12 siblings. She attended the Hay River Anglican Mission for 8 years before moving briefly to Fort Providence, and then to Fort Smith for work. She married Colin Loutitt of Fort Chipewyan on September 26, 1926, with whom she had 10 children: Elmer, Ernest (Ernie), Mavis, Shirley, John, Sandy, Freddy, Roy, Allan, and Jack.
In her earlier years, she worked aboard the HBC ship Distributor. Upon her marriage in 1926, she moved to Fort Chipewyan for four years, before returning to Fort Smith in 1930. She worked as cook for the NTCL Company, working seasonally aboard the boats for about 10 years, including the Radium King, Porphyry, Diesel 8, and the Richard E. She also worked for the RCMP as cook for 31 years overall, beginning early in her career, and then resuming again in 1960 for 17 years. In between, she cooked for pilots and passengers for the PWA.
Loutitt raised her children in between and during these jobs. In the off season, she worked as cook at local hotels, and later running her own café. She died in May 1990.