Riley Keough Honors Late Mom Lisa Marie Presley With Moving Tribute
The late Lisa Marie Presley is a grandmother, her son-in-law revealed at her funeral.
At the singer’s star-studded memorial service at Graceland Jan. 22, her eldest daughter Riley Keough‘s husband Ben Smith-Petersen read to the crowd a letter his wife wrote to her late mom. “Thank you for showing me that love is the most important things in this life,” it said. “I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters.”
A rep for Riley confirmed to E! News that the Terminal List actress, daughter of the late Elvis Presley, and her husband have welcomed a daughter. No further details about the child of the couple, who wed in 2015, were provided.
Riley’s tribute to Lisa Marie was titled “A Letter to My Mama.” Ben read, “Thank you for being my mother in this life. I am 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 remember you.”
He continued reading, “I remember everything. I remember you giving me baths as a baby and I remember you driving me in my car seat listening to Aretha Franklin. I remember the way you would cuddle me and when I’d come into your bed at night, and the way you smelled. I remember you taking me for ice cream after school in Florida. I remember you singing me and my brother lullabies at night and how you would lay with us until we fell asleep.”
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Lisa Marie, who died Jan. 12 in Los Angeles after suffering a reported cardiac arrest at her home, was laid to rest next to her son, Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020 at age 27. Their graves are located near Elvis’.
In addition to Riley and her granddaughter, Lisa Marie is also survived by her younger daughters, twins Finley Aaron Love Lockwood and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood, 14, as well as her brother, Navarone Garcia, and their mother, Priscilla Presley. The 77-year-old, now a great-grandmother, also spoke at the memorial, reading a note penned by one of her granddaughters, who she did not name.
“I have no idea how to put my mother into words,” she 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, but Mama was my icon, my role model, my superhero, in much more ways than one. Even now, I can’t get across everything there is to be understood or known about her, but as she always said, I’ll do my best.'”
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Fans Honor Lisa Marie Presley at Graceland Memorial
Scores of fans flocked to Graceland Jan. 22 for a public memorial for the late Elvis Presley‘s daughter Lisa Marie. The fellow singer died Jan. 12 at her Los Angeles home at age 54.
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RIP
Lisa Marie’s grave is seen next to her son Benjamin Keough‘s.
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Axl Rose
The Guns N’ Roses frontman performs his band’s hit ballad “November Rain.” He also gave a speech about his friend Lisa Marie.
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Priscilla Presley
Lisa Marie’s mother speaks at the event, reading a note one of her granddaughters penned for her mom.
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Ben Smith-Peterson
The husband of Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley Keough reads a letter his wife wrote to her mother.
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Flowers for Lisa Marie
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A C Wharton
The former mayor of Memphis speaks at the memorial.
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Tennessee Mass Choir
The group performs at the event.
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Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins singer honors Lisa Marie with a musical tribute.
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Alanis Morissette
The singer performs her song “Rest.”
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Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman performs his band’s song “Oh, Sheila.”
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Sarah Ferguson
Sarah, Duchess of York, speaks at the memorial.
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Fans Gather Outside Graceland
Fans gather to pay their respects.
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