In memoriam. During Lisa Marie Presley’s memorial service, son-in-law Ben Smith-Petersen shared a tribute from his wife, Riley Keough.
“A letter to my Mama,” the 31-year-old stuntman — who married the 33-year-old Zola actress in 2015 — said during the Sunday, January 22, service, reading Keough’s note aloud. “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 can remember you.”
Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley. Mediapunch/Shutterstock
He continued: “I remember everything. I remember you giving me baths as a baby, I remember you driving me in my car seat listening to Aretha Franklin. I remember the way you’d cuddle me when I’d come into your bed at night and the way you smelled. … I remember you singing me and my brother [Benjamin Keough] lullabies at night and how you’d lay with us until you fell asleep. I remember how it felt to be loved by the most loving mother I’ve ever known.”
Presley — who died on January 12 at the age of 54 — shared Riley and Benjamin, who died by suicide in 2020, with ex-husband Danny Keough. The late “Storm & Grace” songstress was also the mother of twins Harper and Finley, both 14, whom she coparented with former spouse Michael Lockwood.
The Presley family — lead by matriarch Priscilla Presley, who shared her only child with late ex-husband Elvis Presley — attended a funeral service for Lisa Marie at Graceland on Sunday. During the memorial, Smith-Petersen tearfully read his bride’s message.
“I remember how safe it felt to be in our arms. I remember that feeling as a child and I remember it two weeks ago on your couch,” the Australia native said. “Thank you for showing me that love is the only thing that matters in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, the way you loved my brother and my sisters.”
The Daisy Jones & the Six actress, who met Smith-Petersen on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road, previously broke her silence on her mother’s death on Friday, January 20. Riley posted a throwback photo of the twosome, captioned with a red heart emoji.
“Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity,” Smith-Petersen concluded his wife’s speech on Sunday. “I’m a product of your heart, my sisters are a product of your heart, my brother is a product of your heart. We are you, you are us, my eternal love. I hope you finally know how loved you were here. Thank you for trying so hard for us. If I didn’t tell you every day, thank you.”