"I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, and the way you loved my brother and my sisters," the grieving daughter said.
Riley Keough lost her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, on January 12. Lisa Marie remains alive in the memory of her daughter, who gave her a moving tribute. Riley, 33, said in Lisa Marie's public memorial, held at Elvis' Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee, "I'm eternally grateful to have spent 33 years with you. I'm certain I chose the best mother for me in this world... I remember everything. I remember you giving me baths as a baby. I remember the way you would cuddle me ... and the way you smelled."
According to PEOPLE, Riley sat on the front row with her family, including Priscilla Presley, during the memorial. Her husband, Ben Smith-Peterson, read out her speech. Smith-Peterson also revealed that he and Riley welcomed a baby together during the memorial speech.
Riley Keough's note to her mother (as read out by her husband), continues: "I remember all the notes you'd leave in my lunchbox every day. I remember the feeling I'd get when I'd see you picking me up from school and the way your hand felt on my forehead...I remember how it felt to be loved by the most loving mother I've ever known. Thank you for showing me love is the only thing that matters in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, and the way you loved my brother and my sisters."
As per Page Six, Priscilla also read a poem written by one of her granddaughters, titled, The Old Soul at the memorial. “I’m going to read something my granddaughter wrote. I have no idea how to put my mother into words. Truth is there are too many,” she began. “She was an icon, a role model, a superhero to many people all over the world,” her message continued. According to her note, Lisa Marie always knew she wouldn't live too long. Referring to how her son, Benjamin's death had affected Lisa Marie, Priscilla read: "She knew it was close to the end, survivor's guilt some would say. But a broken heart was the doing of her death.”
Riley had also shared a black-and-white childhood photo of herself with Lisa Marie on Instagram. The actress left a simple caption to go along with the photo in her first public statement since her mother, the only child of rock legend Elvis Presley and Priscilla, died: "❤️."
Her mom died at age 54 after being rushed to a Los Angeles hospital for cardiac arrest. Lisa Marie is survived by her mother, actress, and businesswoman Priscilla, 77; and her three daughters, Riley and twins Finley and Harper Lockwood, 14, and her granddaughter. Her death was preceded by her son, Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide at age 27 in 2020.
In December 2022, Riley had spoken to PEOPLE about her upcoming show Daisy Jones and The Six and said that her mom was the inspiration for the character in the show. "My mother is certainly an inspiration to me," said Keough, adding that Lisa Marie was "a very strong, smart woman."
Riley Keough is proud to have been raised by somebody who was independent and unbothered by people's opinions. She thinks she owes her strength, her heart, her empathy, her courage, her sense of humor, her manners, her temper, her wildness, and her tenacity to her mother, Lisa Marie. Her mother will forever be an inspiration to her.
References:
https://people.com/movies/lisa-marie-presley-daughter-riley-keough-honors-mom-at-memorial-service/
https://pagesix.com/2023/01/22/riley-keough-honors-mom-lisa-marie-presley-at-graceland-memorial/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cno-ZpELSwd/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Neilson Barnard
