Lisa Marie Presley, a singer, songwriter and the daughter of Elvis Presley, was remembered throughout a funeral service Sunday (Jan. 22) as a loving mom and an “outdated soul” who endured tragedy however persevered as a devoted protector of her father’s legacy as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer and pop icon.
Greater than a thousand folks gathered on the entrance garden of Graceland on a grey, chilly Memphis morning to mourn the dying and keep in mind the lifetime of Lisa Marie Presley, who died Jan. 12 after she was taken to a hospital in California.
Some mourners held flowers as they waited for the service to start beneath the tall bushes on the garden of Graceland, the house in Memphis the place Lisa Marie lived as a baby together with her father. The mansion, which Lisa Marie Presley owned, has been became a museum and vacationer attraction that a whole lot of hundreds of followers go to annually to have a good time the life and music of Elvis, who died in 1977 at age 42.
The property in south Memphis was a spot of unhappiness and somber recollections on Sunday. The service started with the singing of “Wonderful Grace” by Jason Clark & The Tennessee Mass Choir.
“We want to specific our heartfelt gratitude for the love, compassion and help you may have proven our household throughout this troublesome time,” mentioned a message from the Presley household written on this system for the service. “We’ll all the time be grateful.”
Amongst those that spoke throughout the service have been Lisa Marie’s mom, actress Priscilla Presley; Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York; Jerry Schilling, a detailed pal of Elvis; and former Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, who known as Lisa Marie’s mother and father Memphis’ royal couple and a “conduit to the throne, the keeper of the flame.”
In a smooth voice, Priscilla Presley learn a poem from one in every of Lisa Marie’s three daughters, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood, entitled “The Outdated Soul,” by which she calls her mom “an icon, a job mannequin, a superhero to many individuals all around the world.”
“In 1968, she entered our world, born drained, fragile, but sturdy. She was delicate, however was full of life,” Priscilla Presley learn. “She all the time knew she wouldn’t be right here too lengthy. Childhood passes by, with a glimpse of her inexperienced eye. She then grew a household of her personal.”
After studying the poem, Priscilla Presley mentioned: “Our coronary heart is damaged. Lisa, all of us love you.”
Music punctuated the service. Billy Corgan, lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins, performed acoustic guitar and sang “To Sheila;” Alanis Morissette sang “Relaxation;” Axl Rose, of Weapons N’ Roses, performed piano and sang “November Rain;” and The Blackwood Brothers Quartet carried out two songs.
After the service, mourners walked by Graceland’s Meditation Backyard, the place she was laid to relaxation in an above-ground grave subsequent to her son Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020, and alongside her grandparents and nice grandmother.
Weaths and bouquets of pink, white, yellow and pink flowers lined the stroll as much as the gravesite and the tomb itself. Followers, some teary-eyed, walked slowly by the tomb, pausing to pay their respects.
Jordan Clark, 25, traveled from Cell, Alabama, to attend the service. She known as the ceremony particular and heartwarming. Clark mentioned Lisa Marie “went by so much” in her life and equated the service to the time when Elvis died, when “folks got here from throughout.”
“She was born into the general public, born into fame. That’s exhausting for some folks,” Clark mentioned. “She dealt with it like a champ. I feel.”
Lisa Marie was 9 when her father died. She was staying at Graceland on the time and would recall him kissing her goodnight hours earlier than he died. When she subsequent noticed him, the next day, he was mendacity face down within the lavatory.
After her father died, she grew to become the only real inheritor of the Elvis Presley Belief, which — together with Elvis Presley Enterprises — managed Graceland and different property till she offered her majority curiosity in 2005. She retained possession of the mansion itself, the 13 acres round it and gadgets inside the house.
A consultant from Elvis Presley Enterprises has informed The Related Press that the mansion is in a belief that can go to the advantage of her youngsters. Together with Harper, she is survived by two different daughters — Riley Keough and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood.
Riley Keough, an actress, didn’t communicate on the service. Her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, learn a press release by which she remembers Lisa Marie taking her for ice cream, bringing her tea units from Cracker Barrel, and leaving notes in her lunchbox.
“Thanks for giving me energy, my coronary heart, my empathy, my braveness, my humorousness, my manners, my mood, my wildness, my tenacity,” Riley Keough mentioned within the assertion. “I’m a product of your coronary heart.”
