Our heart is broken Lisa, we all love you': Priscilla Presley pays emotional tribute to her daughter Lisa Marie and reads poem by her granddaughter for her 'role model and superhero
Priscilla Presley led her family in tributes to her late daughter at an emotional memorial service Sunday morning.She shared a poem by one of Lisa Marie Presley's 14-year-old daughters, in which she called her mother 'an icon, a role model and a superhero.'The poem read: 'She always knew she wouldn't be here too long... some say a broken heart killed her,' referring to her son, Benjamin's untimely death by suicide in July 2020.
Speaking for herself, the 77-year-old grieving mother then added: 'Our hearts are broken. Lisa we all love you.'
Lisa Marie's other daughter, actress Riley Keough, was apparently too overcome with grief to stand up on stage and provide her eulogy herself, so she had her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, read it for her.
Their speeches came just moments before Lisa Marie, 54, was buried at the Memphis estate next to her father, Elvis, and her son Benjamin.In the eulogy, Riley, 33, shared how she is 'certain' she 'chose the best mother in this world' before describing some of the memories she has of her mother.
'I remember you driving me in my car seat playing Aretha Franklin,' she shared in the eulogy. 'I remember the feeling I'd get when you picked me up from school.'
'Thank you for showing me that love is the only thing that matters in this world,' she concluded, noting that she and her late brother, as well as her half-sisters are 'products of your heart.
'We are you, you are us,' Riley wrote. 'Thank you for trying so hard for all of us.'
But the first eulogy of the morning was from talent agent Jerry Schilling, who described how he first met Lisa Marie Presley shortly after she was born.
'I always called Lisa Marie "Memphis,"' he shared. 'She had that cadence.'
He told how Lisa Marie served as his assistance, before he started managing the singer-songwriter, and serving in her weddings.
'Memphis, I will always love you,' Schilling said.
Meanwhile, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson vowed to always be around for Lisa Marie's children, sharing how she considered the rock n' roll princess her 'sissy.'
The duchess shared how was with Lisa Marie her entire life, and vowed to do the same for her 14-year-old twins, as well as her older daughter, Riley.
Lisa Marie did not want the memorial service to be sad, film producer Joel Weinshanker said as the service began Sunday morning.
'Lisa we will try to honor you,' he said, 'try to honor your wishes.'
Former Memphis Mayor AC Wharton also shared how Lisa Marie 'was the jewel of this city.'
'Lisa Marie was all Memphis,' he said. 'She belonged to us, and we belonged to her.'
Wharton added that Lisa Marie's 'spirit will liv in a collective memory of a city that loved her tenderly, loved her truly and loved her fully.'
Her coffin was on display to the public during the celebration of life at the family's Graceland estate, and fans were allowed to view Lisa Marie's headstone, where they could leave flowers or other offerings, following the ceremony.
Presley — the only child of rock legend Elvis — suffered a cardiac arrest at her Calabasas home, and died at a hospital in Los Angeles on January 12.
Her mother Priscilla was by her side and the family, on being told she was brain dead, made the decision to sign a Do Not Resuscitate order.
The LA County Coroner announced on Tuesday that it would be deferring the results of her official cause of death pending the results of a toxicology test - which could take years.
Ahead of the ceremony, Lisa Marie's gray marble sarcophagus sat next to her burial spot in the exact same spot as her son's. Photos of the pair together have been placed in front of their monuments.
Benjamin's resting place had to be moved slightly to accommodate his mother's.
The plaque that will cover the gravesite was also covered with a tarp for protection during the service.
It drew thousands of fans to downtown Memphis, with the
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] reporting that Graceland's 450-room hotel was completely sold-out, and hotels near the museum and Beale Street 'seeing an uptick in last minute reservations for the weekend.'
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] landed in Memphis for the event Saturday night.
Keough, 33, arrived in a private jet shortly after her grandmother
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and her former stepfather Michael Lockwood landed.
Lockwood was Lisa Marie's fourth and final husband, and the father of her 14-year-old twin daughters Harper and Finley.
Keough's father is Lisa Marie's first husband, actor Danny Keough, who remained close to the troubled star and was living with her at the time of her death,
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She was accompanied by her husband, Australian stuntman Smith-Peterson.
Dressed down in sweatpants, with her hair loose, Keough lit a cigarette outside the airport.
She also appeared to be carrying a baby, although she herself does not have children.
It was the first time she had been seen since her mother's sudden death.
Keough had earlier posted a touching tribute post on Instagram for her mother - the first time she's acknowledged her death.
She posted a photo of her mother looking adoringly down at her as a small child while she gazed back with a soft smile on her face.
Presley's oldest child simply captioned the heartbreaking post with a red heart.
Presley grew up fearing her own mortality after she found her father dead at the age of nine, traumatizing her.
She often spoke of her own death and even referred to the backyard at the Graceland estate as a 'graveyard.'
'How many people have a family grave in the backyard? How many people are reminded of their fate, of their mortality, every f**king day? All the graves are lined up and there's a spot there, waiting for me, right next to my grandmother,' she told Playboy in 2003.
Despite her fear, the singer believed she had many more years to live.
Last Sunday she told her friend David Kessler, who works as a grief counselor, that she had 'so much to do.'
The pair were at the Graceland estate to celebrate what would have been Elvis' 88th birthday.
Presley, who rarely made public appearances since her son's death, told the adoring crowd: 'You are the only people who can bring me out of the house.'
She added: 'I'm not kidding. I love you back and that's why I'm here.'
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