Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Lisa Marie Presley was admired as a loyal friend. The photo was taken last week at a celebration of her dad's Jan. 8 birthday at Graceland in Memphis, Tenn.
Celebrity deaths don't usually stand out to me, but Elvis Presley and his daughter are exceptions.
Everything I know about Elvis and Lisa Marie Presley, who passed Thursday at age 54, comes from media reports. I never saw either of them perform in person, don't remember buying any of their records, and can't say I've even read that much about them.
But I've admired them both for a long time.
Here's why:
Elvis died at age 42 in 1977. I heard the news while dusting the clock radios at Sears in Mulesheo, where I worked as a Distributive Education Clubs of America student. I was 17. Elvis was well past his prime and I don't remember any emotional connection.
But the adult ladies who worked with me – Clara, Iris, Olgaline, Billie and Melba – were all visibly shaken by the news. I remember them crowding around the radios the rest of the day in search of additional information, a funeral-like atmosphere hanging over the store.
Exactly one year later, at a different Sears in Amarillo, a co-worker named Pat broke down crying more than once as she remembered the impact Elvis had on her young life.
I know now that Elvis was a special talent who made the most of the gifts God gave him. I know that because of the broken hearts he left behind.
Lisa Marie was not so talented as her dad, or at least she never enjoyed his success. But I didn't think of her music when I heard Thursday night that she'd died.
I thought instead of her relationship with Michael Jackson.
When Jackson faced child-molestation allegations in 1993 that turned most of the world against him, his friend Lisa Marie Presley stood beside him publicly, and soon married him.
The internet tells us they stayed married for just two years and it was full of what Presley called "rough patches," but they remained friends until Jackson's death in 2009.
The allegations against Jackson were never proven and many now believe he was unfairly targeted because of his quirky personality. Presley supported him throughout those difficult times.
We all need at least one loyal friend and someone to admire for making the most of their God-given talents.
That's how I'll always remember the Presleys.
David Stevens is publisher for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:
