Lisa Marie Presley’s death at 54 in 2023 prompted a wave of tributes from those who knew and admired the sole child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. After her passing, Lisa Marie was also honored by her daughter, Riley Keough, along with other family members. The Presley family has since sought to move forward after losing the “Sinking In” performer. Now, Priscilla is getting candid, sharing what her final moments with her daughter were like. With that, the matriarch is discussing her decision to take Lisa Marie off life support.
80-year-old Priscilla Presley spoke about her daughter during an interview with People. When reflecting on Lisa Marie’s death two years later, Priscilla referred to it as the “second saddest day” of her life “other than losing Elvis.” It was Lisa Marie’s ex-husband, Danny Keough, who discovered her unresponsive in her home, and he eventually called Priscilla to meet him at the hospital. Priscilla recalled to the news outlet what the situation was like when she arrived and how the news of her daughter’s status was delivered to her:
We were there all day long. Lisa really wasn't breathing, so she was on the ventilator. For hours we were there waiting, hoping and praying until the doctor came in and said, 'Priscilla, I'm so sorry, she's gone.' We just couldn't believe it — didn't want to believe it. It was hard on all of us, it still is.
Lisa Marie Presley was hospitalized following a cardiac episode shortly before her death. An autopsy that was later conducted after her death, and it was ruled that the singer-songwriter died due to a small bowel obstruction that developed as a result of a bariatric surgery she had years earlier. Before Lisa Marie passed, Priscilla was faced with the choice of whether to take her off life support, and the mother of two explained that comments from the doctor were what informed her decision:
The next thing I remember is the doctor talking to me. He asked me what I wanted him to do. They had restarted Lisa’s heart, but there was no guarantee it would keep beating. I asked the doctor, 'What kind of life will she have if we keep her on that machine?' He looked at me with compassion and shook his head. “No quality of life at all.' I thought about my girl, my wild, rebellious, passionate girl, lying in a vegetative state for the rest of her life. I said what I had to. 'Take her off the machine, Doctor.' My voice was barely above a whisper.
A memorial service was later held for Lisa Marie Presley at the family’s estate in Graceland. It was during the ceremony that Priscilla read a message that was written by one of her granddaughters. Ben Smith-Petersen, Riley Keough’s husband, also read a speech on his wife’s behalf, which memorialized the late star in a touching way.
In time, though, a legal battle was set in motion after Priscilla Presley contested her late daughter’s will. Presley specifically took issue with an amendment that named Riley and Benjamin Keough as the co-trustees in place of herself and Lisa Marie’s former business manager, Barry Siegel. Around that time, Priscilla released a statement in which she conveyed her devotion to her family. What followed, however, was a back-and-forth between her and Riley. The two eventually settled the matter, with Riley later saying they’d moved past that family “chaos.”
During her recent interview with People, Priscilla Presley said that grappling with Lisa Marie’s death “hasn’t been easy at all” for her. Nevertheless, she’s looking to “find strength,” and I hope she and her family members are able to do just that as time moves forward.
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