Priscilla Presley reads a poem wrtitten by granddaughter Harper Lockwood throughout a memorial service for her daughter Lisa Marie Presley at Graceland Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn.

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Priscilla Presley reads a poem wrtitten by granddaughter Harper Lockwood throughout a memorial service for her daughter Lisa Marie Presley at Graceland Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn.

John Amis/AP

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Lisa Marie Presley, a singer, songwriter and the daughter of Elvis Presley, was remembered throughout a funeral service Sunday as a loving mom and an “old soul” who endured tragedy however persevered as a devoted protector of her father’s legacy as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer and pop icon.

More than a thousand folks gathered on the entrance garden of Graceland on a grey, chilly Memphis morning to mourn the loss of life and bear in mind the lifetime of Lisa Marie Presley, who died Jan. 12 after she was taken to a hospital in California.

Some mourners held flowers as they waited for the service to start below the tall timber on the garden of Graceland, the house in Memphis the place Lisa Marie lived as a toddler along with her father. The mansion, which Lisa Marie Presley owned, has been became a museum and vacationer attraction that tons of of hundreds of followers go to annually to have fun the life and music of Elvis, who died in 1977 at age 42.

The property in south Memphis was a spot of disappointment and somber reminiscences on Sunday. The service started with the singing of “Amazing Grace” by Jason Clark & The Tennessee Mass Choir.

“We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the love, compassion and support you have shown our family during this difficult time,” stated a message from the Presley household written on this system for the service. “We will always be grateful.”

Among those that spoke in the course of the service had been Lisa Marie’s mom, actor Priscilla Presley; Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York; Jerry Schilling, a detailed pal of Elvis; and former Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, who known as Lisa Marie’s mother and father Memphis’ royal couple and a “conduit to the throne, the keeper of the flame.”

In a smooth voice, Priscilla Presley learn a poem from considered one of Lisa Marie’s three daughters, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood, entitled “The Old Soul,” through which she calls her mom “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 Presley learn. “She always knew she wouldn’t be here too long. Childhood passes by, with a glimpse of her green eye. She then grew a family of her own.”

After studying the poem, Priscilla Presley stated: “Our heart is broken. Lisa, we all love you.”

Axl Rose performs throughout a memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn.

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Axl Rose performs throughout a memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn.

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Music punctuated the service. Billy Corgan, lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins, performed acoustic guitar and sang “To Sheila;” Alanis Morissette sang “Rest;” Axl Rose, of Guns N’ Roses, performed piano and sang “November Rain;” and The Blackwood Brothers Quartet carried out two songs.

After the service, mourners walked by way of Graceland’s Meditation Garden, the place she was laid to relaxation in an above-ground grave subsequent to her son Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020, and alongside her grandparents and nice grandmother.

Wreaths and bouquets of pink, white, yellow and pink flowers lined the stroll as much as the gravesite and the tomb itself. Fans, some teary-eyed, walked slowly by the tomb, pausing to pay their respects.

Jordan Clark, 25, traveled from Mobile, Alabama, to attend the service. She known as the ceremony particular and heartwarming. Clark stated Lisa Marie “went through a lot” in her life and equated the service to the time when Elvis died, when “people came from all over.”

“She was born into the public, born into fame. That’s hard for some people,” Clark stated. “She handled it like a champ. I think.”

Lisa Marie was 9 when her father died. She was staying at Graceland on the time and would recall him kissing her goodnight hours earlier than he died. When she subsequent noticed him, the next day, he was mendacity face down within the rest room.

After her father died, she grew to become the only real inheritor of the Elvis Presley Trust, which — together with Elvis Presley Enterprises — managed Graceland and different property till she bought her majority curiosity in 2005. She retained possession of the mansion itself, the 13 acres round it and objects inside the house.

A consultant from Elvis Presley Enterprises has informed The Associated Press that the mansion is in a belief that can go to the advantage of her youngsters. Along with Harper, she is survived by two different daughters — Riley Keough and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood.

Riley Keough, an actor, didn’t communicate on the service. Her husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, learn an announcement through which she remembers Lisa Marie taking her for ice cream, bringing her tea units from Cracker Barrel, and leaving notes in her lunchbox.

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