'We all love you': Lisa Marie Presley honored during service at Graceland

Ten days after her death, friends, family, fans, and admirers of Lisa Marie Presley gathered at Graceland in Memphis to pay tribute to the singer and only daughter of rock 'n' roll legend Elvis Presley. Lisa Marie had long been a living link to Elvis for devoted fans of The King, who doted on his only child.

On the same lawn where earlier this month Lisa Marie performed a ceremonial cutting of an Elvis birthday cake to mark her father's birthday, hundreds came together to say goodbye to her.

Lisa Marie Presley's mother, Priscilla Presley, spoke briefly at the Sunday morning service. Holding back tears, she read some words prepared by one of Lisa Marie's children.

"I have no idea how to put my mother into words," Priscilla read. "Truth is there are too many. Lisa Marie Presley was an icon, a role model, a superhero to many people all over the world."

She also passed on thanks from the family for all the support in the wake of her daughter's death.

"Our heart is broken, Lisa. We all love you," Priscilla said.

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Lisa Marie, 54, died on Jan. 12 after an apparent cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California.

Elvis Presley Enterprises managing partner Joel Weinshanker said Lisa Marie had given specific instructions for this day, including: "Don't make it sad."

"Lisa, we will try to honor you and honor your wishes," he said.

Despite that, the mood at the chilly Sunday morning service was somber. Even with hundreds in attendance, most of the ambient noise before the memorial came from slow Elvis music piped through outdoor speakers. "In The Garden" played as Lisa Marie's family emerged out of the front door of the mansion prior to the service.

Her daughter Riley Keough prepared remarks that were read by her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen.

"Thank you for being my mother in this life. I'm eternally grateful to have spent 33 years with you. I'm certain I chose the best mother for me in this world, and I knew that as far back as I can remember you," he read from the remarks, titled "A Letter to My Momma."

In the remarks, Keough recalled listening to Aretha Franklin in the car, getting ice cream after school and the lullabies Lisa Marie would sing to her and her brother.

"I remember how it felt to be loved by the most loving mother I've ever known. I remember how safe it felt to be in your arms," Smith-Petersen read. "I remember that feeling as a child and I remember it two weeks ago on your couch. Thank you for showing me that love is the only thing that matters in this life."

'The image of a king'

Speakers at the service Sunday morning remembered Lisa Marie Presley for her music, her spirit and the unique space she occupied in the hearts and minds of Memphians.

Jerry Schilling, a longtime associate of Elvis and friend of the Presley family, said he visited Graceland for Christmas of 1967. As he prepared to hand home to Los Angeles, Elvis asked him, "You're not going to stay for the birth of our daughter?"

So he stayed through Lisa Marie's birth in February of 1968.

"We got back to the house here. And I had never held a baby before. And we're in the kitchen. And Elvis just hands me Lisa and I sure as hell wasn't going to drop her. And that was the beginning of my journey with (Lisa Marie)," he said.

Schilling recalled that Lisa Marie was one of the few people who could intimidate one of his other clients and another musical great ― Jerry Lee Lewis.

The two stayed connected throughout her life. Lisa Marie ― whom he called Memphis ― worked as his assistant and he officiated one of her weddings. He walked her down the red carpet at what would be her last public event, this year's Golden Globes, and was at the hospital when she died earlier this month.

"Memphis, I will always love you," Schilling said.

Former Memphis Mayor A C Wharton said, “Lisa Marie’s birth is woven into the institutional memory of this city… she was the image of a king.”

"Elvis may have been born in Tupelo and Priscilla may have started in Dallas," he said. "But Lisa Marie was all Memphis. She belonged to us. And we belonged to her."

Wharton noted that 1968, the year of Lisa Marie's birth, was a tumultuous year for the country and for Memphis, in particular. She provided a bright spot for the city, then and throughout her 54 years of life.

"She was a conduit to the throne, the keeper of the flame. She was the image of a king," he said.

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, said those who cared about Lisa Marie needed "to stoke our flames within" to support her family and to celebrate her life. However, she also shared some words from Queen Elizabeth II.

"My late mother-in-law used to say that 'nothing can be said, can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Because grief is the price we pay for love.' And how right she was," Ferguson said.

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Musical tributes, worldwide support

Before a performance of "November Rain," Axl Rose said he remained in shock about Lisa Marie's death.

"I never in a million years imagined singing here and especially under these circumstances. This is truly devastating, and I'm sure excruciating for everyone here and all of those affected by her passing," he said.

Rose described Lisa Marie as fiercely protective of her father's legacy and as "a beautiful and good soul."

In addition to Rose’s performance, the service also included performances from Alanis Morissette, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Jason Clark & The Tennessee Mass Choir and The Blackwood Brothers Quartet.

Among the hundreds in attendance Sunday morning were politicians and celebrities. In addition to members of Presley's family and those included in the speaker and performer lineup, actor Austin Butler and director Baz Luhrmann were also at the service.

Butler played Elvis in the 2022 biopic about the rock star, which was directed by Luhrmann. Catherine Martin, who was the production and costume designer for the film and who is married to Luhrmann, was also in attendance. The film was widely praised by the Presley family, including Lisa Marie, who said it was a representation of her father she and her children could be proud of.

Also in attendance Sunday were Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, whose district is in Memphis.

After the service, fans were escorted through the Meditation Garden to pay their respects to Lisa Marie. The garden is also the final resting place of Elvis; Lisa Marie's son, Benjamin Keough; and other members of the Presley family, including Elvis' mother, Gladys Presley; his father, Vernon Presley; and his grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley.

William Pollock of Chattanooga described Elvis as the greatest entertainer who ever walked the earth. He said Lisa Marie was an “innocent child” thrust into a life where the footsteps she had to follow were far too large. He said Elvis fans sympathized with the pain she felt throughout her life.

The service, Pollock said, was beautiful and he said he was honored the family allowed the public to come to such a personal service.

More than 102,000 people watched the service via livestream. Viewers from all across the U.S., Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, France and many other countries left comments of love and support.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Lisa Marie Presley service at Graceland: Family, friends pay tribue