At Lisa Marie Presley's funeral, loved ones honor a "superhero" who persevered under a lifelong spotlight

Friends and family gathered at Graceland on Sunday to honor Elvis Presley's late daughter Lisa Marie, who died earlier this month at 54

By Hattie Lindert  |  January 23, 2023 | 7:13pm
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At Lisa Marie Presley's funeral, loved ones honor a
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On Sunday, more than a thousand mourners gathered at Graceland to honor the life of Elvis Presley’s only daughter Lisa Marie Presley, who died earlier this month after a cardiac arrest episode. Bathed in the spotlight from the moment she was born, Lisa Marie faced her fair share of struggles in life, but remained unwavering as a steward of her father’s legacy and a dedicated mother, qualities that her loved ones highlighted during a reflective and musical funeral.

Per the Associated Press (via NBC News), Lisa Marie’s service began with a rendition of “Amazing Grace” sung by Jason Clark & The Tennessee Mass Choir. A long and diverse list of voices spoke to Lisa Marie’s memory, including her mother, Priscilla Presley; Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson; Jerry Schilling, a close confidante of Elvis’ and a former manager of Lisa Marie’s.

A former mayor of Memphis, A C Wharton, even spoke to the profundity of the loss, calling Priscilla and Elvis’ Memphis’ royal couple and Lisa Marie a “keeper of the flame.” (Although Lisa Marie gave up her majority interest in the Elvis Presley Trust in 2005, she retained ownership of Graceland, which will now go to the benefit of her children.)

As part of her speech, Priscilla chose to read “The Old Soul,” a poem written by Lisa Marie’s daughter Harper Lockwood. In the poem, Lockwood refers to her mother as “an icon, a role model, a superhero to many people all over the world.”

“In 1968, she entered our world, born tired, fragile, yet strong. She was delicate, but was filled with life,” Priscilla read. “She always knew she wouldn’t be here too long.” Priscilla concluded with a few of her own words: “Our heart is broken. Lisa, we all love you.”

Lisa Marie’s eldest daughter, actor Riley Keough, did not speak at the service but shared a statement via her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, where she fondly recalled ice cream dates with her mother and lunch-box notes written with love.

“Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity,” Keough said. “I’m a product of your heart.”

Naturally, music served as a central connector between the service’s movements, and plenty of renowned musicians came to play Lisa Marie out. The Smashing Pumpkins’ lead singer Billy Corgan performed an acoustic rendition of “To Sheila”; Alanis Morissette sang “Rest”; Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses accompanied himself on the piano during a performance of “November Rain”; and pioneering gospel group The Blackwood Brothers Quartet performed two numbers.

After the service ended, mourners were invited to walk through Graceland’s Meditation Garden. Like her great-grandparents and grandparents before her, Lisa Marie was laid to rest in the Garden—her above-ground grave sits next to that of her late son, Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020. Multi-colored flower bouquet’s swiftly lined the gravesite as teary-eyed fans paid their respects.

Jordan Clark, a 25-year-old Alabama resident who traveled for the service, said the funeral reminded her of when Elvis died, and “people came from all over” to remember him.

“[Lisa Marie] was born into the public, born into fame. That’s hard for some people,” Clark tells AP. “She handled it like a champ. I think.”

 
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