Memphis, Tenn. (AP) – Lisa Marie Presley, a singer, songwriter and daughter of Elvis Presley, was remembered during a funeral service Sunday as a loving mother and an “old soul” who endured tragedy But stood firm as a devoted protector. His father’s legacy as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer and pop icon.
On a gray, chilly Memphis morning, more than a thousand people gathered on the front lawn of Graceland to mourn the death and remember the life of Lisa Marie Presley, who died Jan. 12 after being rushed to a California hospital Went.
Some mourners held flowers as they waited for the service to begin under tall trees on the lawn of Graceland, the home in Memphis where Lisa Marie lived with her father as a child. The mansion owned by Lisa Marie Presley has been converted into a museum and tourist attraction, where hundreds of thousands of fans come each year to celebrate the life and music of Elvis, who died in 1977 at the age of 42 .
The property in South Memphis was a place of sadness and sad memories on Sunday. The service began with a rendition of “Amazing Grace” by Jason Clark and The Tennessee Mass Choir.
A message from the Presley family, written on the program for the service, said, “We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for the love, compassion and support you have shown our family during this difficult time.” “We will be forever grateful.”
Among those who spoke during the service were Lisa Marie’s mother, actress Priscilla Presley; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Jerry Schilling, a close friend of Elvis; and former Memphis mayor A.C. Wharton, who called Lisa Marie’s parents Memphis’ royal couple and “conduit to the throne, keeper of the flame.”
In a soft voice, Priscilla Presley, one of Lisa Marie’s three daughters, read a poem by Harper Vivian Ann Lockwood titled “The Old Soul,” in which she described her mother as “an icon, a role model, a role model for many people.” A superhero for us”. Worldwide.”
“In 1968, she entered our world, born tired, fragile, yet strong. She was fragile, but full of life,” Priscilla Presley read. “She always knew she wouldn’t be here very long. With a twinkle of her green eyes, childhood passed by. Then she raised a family of her own.”
Priscilla Presley said after reading the poem: “Our hearts are broken. Lisa, we all love you.”
Music punctuated the service. Billy Corgan, lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins, played acoustic guitar and sang on “To Sheila;” Sang. Alanis Morissette performed “Rest;” Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses played piano and sang “November Rain”; and The Blackwood Brothers Quartet performing two songs.
After the service, mourners walked through Graceland’s Meditation Garden, where she was laid to rest in an above-ground grave next to her son, Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020, and her grandfather- With grandmother and great-grandmother.
Bouquets and bouquets of red, white, yellow and pink flowers lined the walk to the grave site and mausoleum. Fans, some in tears, walked slowly past the mausoleum, pausing to pay their respects.
Jordan Clark, 25, traveled from Mobile, Alabama, to attend the service. He described the ceremony as special and heart touching. Clarke said that Lisa Marie “did a lot” in her life and equated the service at Elvis’ death, when “people came from everywhere.”
“She was born into the public, born into fame. It’s hard for some people,” Clarke said. “She handled it like a champ. I think.”
Lisa Marie was 9 when her father died. She was living at Graceland at the time and reminded him to kiss her goodnight before she died. When she next saw him, the next day, he was lying face down in the bathroom.
After her father died, she became the sole heir to the Elvis Presley Trust, which managed Graceland and other properties along with Elvis Presley Enterprises until it sold most of its interest in 2005. This and items inside the house.
A representative for Elvis Presley Enterprises told The Associated Press that the mansion is in a trust that will go to the benefit of his children. Along with Harper, he is survived by two other daughters – Riley Keough and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood.
Riley Keough, an actress, did not speak at the service. Her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, read a statement in which he remembered Lisa Marie taking him out for ice cream, bringing him tea sets from Cracker Barrel, and leaving notes in his lunchbox.
Riley Keough said in the statement, “Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity.” “I am the product of your heart.”
