Remembering Benjamin. After Benjamin Keough — the late son of Lisa Marie Presley — tragically died by suicide at the age of 27, the Presley family has been candid about navigating their loss.
“[Lisa Marie] is entirely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley,” the songwriter’s rep, Roger Widynowski, told Us Weekly in a statement in July 2020, confirming Benjamin’s death. “She adored that boy. He was the love of her life.”
The late musician, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, is survived by father Danny Keough, sister Riley Keough and younger sisters Harper and Finley. (Lisa Marie and ex-husband Danny welcomed Riley and Benjamin in 1989 and 1992, respectively. Lisa Marie and ex-husband Michael Lockwood later welcomed their twins in 2008.)
Before his death, Benjamin was the only grandson of Elvis Presley (who died in 1977) and his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley. The former couple, who split in 1972, also have three granddaughters from daughter Lisa Marie.
“I see a little of [Elvis in Benjamin], but you know, Ben very much is his own person,” the Dallas alum previously told Us in September 2019 of her grandson. “He strives for that so we don’t make a really big deal about it. There’s a resemblance, but we just let him be Ben, which I think is beautiful so that he can find out what he wants to do and be who he is.”
Since Benjamin’s death, his family has been candid about their grieving process.
“Mornings are the hardest. I forget you’re gone. I can’t cry because of the fear that I will never stop. A pain that’s new to me,” Riley, Benjamin’s older sister, wrote via Instagram shortly after her sibling’s death was announced. “You. There are no words for you. Angel is the closest I could think of. Pure light. Baby brother. Best friend. Wild man. Intellectual. Witness to my life. Twin soul. Protector.”
Several years after losing Benjamin, the Presleys have continued to honor his memory.
“I am now living what it’s like to be that same representative to other parents,” Lisa Marie wrote in an essay for People, which was published in August 2022. “Obviously, no parent chooses this road, and thankfully not all parents will have to become a victim to it — and I do mean VICTIM here.”
She added at the time: “I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of 9 years old. I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime and somehow, I’ve made it this far. But this one, the death of my beautiful, beautiful son? The sweetest and most incredible being that I have ever had the privilege of knowing, who made me feel so honored every single day to be his mother? Who was so much like his grandfather on so many levels that he actually scared me? Which made me worry about him even more than I naturally would have? No. Just no.”
Nearly three years after Benjamin’s passing, news broke that Lisa Marie had died at the age of 54. She suffered from cardiac arrest at her Calabasas house before she was rushed to the hospital.
Scroll below for more of the Presley family’s most heartbreaking quotes about losing Benjamin:
Remembering Benjamin. After Benjamin Keough — the late son of Lisa Marie Presley — tragically died by suicide at the age of 27, the Presley family has been candid about navigating their loss.
“[Lisa Marie] is entirely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley,” the songwriter’s rep, Roger Widynowski, told Us Weekly in a statement in July 2020, confirming Benjamin’s death. “She adored that boy. He was the love of her life.”
The late musician, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, is survived by father Danny Keough, sister Riley Keough and younger sisters Harper and Finley. (Lisa Marie and ex-husband Danny welcomed Riley and Benjamin in 1989 and 1992, respectively. Lisa Marie and ex-husband Michael Lockwood later welcomed their twins in 2008.)
Before his death, Benjamin was the only grandson of Elvis Presley (who died in 1977) and his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley. The former couple, who split in 1972, also have three granddaughters from daughter Lisa Marie.
“I see a little of [Elvis in Benjamin], but you know, Ben very much is his own person,” the Dallas alum previously told Us in September 2019 of her grandson. “He strives for that so we don’t make a really big deal about it. There’s a resemblance, but we just let him be Ben, which I think is beautiful so that he can find out what he wants to do and be who he is.”
[jwplayer YdCbz6oY-zhNYySv2]Since Benjamin’s death, his family has been candid about their grieving process.
“Mornings are the hardest. I forget you’re gone. I can’t cry because of the fear that I will never stop. A pain that’s new to me,” Riley, Benjamin’s older sister, wrote via Instagram shortly after her sibling’s death was announced. “You. There are no words for you. Angel is the closest I could think of. Pure light. Baby brother. Best friend. Wild man. Intellectual. Witness to my life. Twin soul. Protector.”
Several years after losing Benjamin, the Presleys have continued to honor his memory.
“I am now living what it’s like to be that same representative to other parents,” Lisa Marie wrote in an essay for People, which was published in August 2022. “Obviously, no parent chooses this road, and thankfully not all parents will have to become a victim to it — and I do mean VICTIM here.”
She added at the time: “I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of 9 years old. I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime and somehow, I’ve made it this far. But this one, the death of my beautiful, beautiful son? The sweetest and most incredible being that I have ever had the privilege of knowing, who made me feel so honored every single day to be his mother? Who was so much like his grandfather on so many levels that he actually scared me? Which made me worry about him even more than I naturally would have? No. Just no.”
Nearly three years after Benjamin’s passing, news broke that Lisa Marie had died at the age of 54. She suffered from cardiac arrest at her Calabasas house before she was rushed to the hospital.
Scroll below for more of the Presley family’s most heartbreaking quotes about losing Benjamin:
“These are some of the darkest days of my family’s life. The shock of losing Ben has been devastating,” Priscilla broke her silence on her grandson’s death via Facebook statement. “Trying to put all the pieces together of all the possible whys has penetrated my soul. Each day I wake up I pray it will get better.”
She continued: “I think of my daughter and the pain she is going through as she was a doting mother. Ben’s father, Danny, who is completely lost, as Ben was his only son. Riley, so loving and so close to him; Harper and Finley, who absolutely adored Ben. Navarone [Garibaldi, my son], who struggles deeply with loss and death. Rest In Peace Ben, you were loved.”
The Daisy Jones & the Six actress dedicated an Instagram tribute to her only brother upon his death.
“Too sensitive for this harsh world. I hope you give me strength to endure the giant hole you’ve left in my heart. I hope you give me the strength to eat. I hope you’re cradled in love,” Riley wrote. “I hope you feel my love. I hope you feel god. You are god. I can’t believe you’ve left me. Not you sweet Ben Ben. Anyone but you. I guess this is true heartbreak. I hope we meet again.”
Navarone Garibaldi, Priscilla’s son with Marco Garibaldi, told Us that their family was devastated by Benjamin’s death.
“On behalf of everyone Ben touched: We are all shocked and heartbroken to have lost such a caring, compassionate soul,” Lisa Marie’s half-brother exclusively told Us at the time. “It’s absolutely devastating. We appreciate everyone’s support and understanding at this time. He will always be a part of us.”
Benjamin was dating Diana Pinto before his death. Pinto, for her part, remembered their relationship in her own social media tribute.
“To the most beautiful boy I have ever seen. You make everyone around you light up the second you step into the room,” she wrote via Instagram. “You touch every single soul around you. You love your Sunday morning toons and chocolate milk. … Your laugh is heard all over the world now. You made me the luckiest girl in the world, to have you, to hold you, to love you and to be loved by you are the only things that have ever mattered.”
Three months after Benjamin’s tragic death, Lisa Marie memorialized him on what would have been his 28th birthday.
“My beautiful beautiful angel, I worshipped the ground you walked on, on this earth and now in Heaven. My heart and soul went with you,” the Tennessee native captioned an Instagram tribute. “The depth of the pain is suffocating and bottomless without you every moment of every day. I will never be the same.”
She added: “Please wait for me my love, and hold my hand while I stay to continue to protect and raise your little sisters and to be here for Riley. I know you would want that. Happy Birthday my sweet sweet Boy. You were much too good for this world.”
Riley also remembered her late brother on his 28th birthday, sharing throwback photos via Instagram. “Happy Birthday beautiful angel,” she captioned her post alongside a heart and storm-cloud emojis, which reference his middle name: Storm.
Several years before Benjamin’s death, he went with Lisa Marie to get matching tattoos in honor of Mother’s Day. The “Storm & Grace” songstress debuted the ink on July 12, noting they chose a Celtic eternity knot design.
“[It symbolizes] that we will be connected eternally. We carefully picked it to represent our eternal love and our eternal bond,” Lisa Marie wrote via Instagram.
“Not an hour goes by where I don’t think of you and miss you. It’s been two years today since you left and I still can’t believe you’re not here,” the Runaways actress captioned a throwback photo from her 2015 wedding to Ben Smith-Petersen. “You are so loved my Ben Ben.”
Lisa Marie penned an emotional essay in honor of National Grief Awareness Day, noting she was “devastated” by Benjamin’s death but “keeps going” for her daughters.
“I keep going because my son made it very clear in his final moments that taking care of his little sisters and looking out for them were on the forefront of his concerns and his mind. He absolutely adored them and they him,” she wrote. “My and my three daughters’ lives as we knew it were completely detonated and destroyed by his death. We live in this every. Single. Day.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Riley shared a throwback photo of her and her brother on what would’ve been his 30th birthday. “You would be 30 today. Happy Birthday my best friend, my angel,” the actress wrote via Instagram at the time. “This world is strange without you❤️.”
In a heart-wrenching essay for People, Lisa Marie wrote candidly about her grief in the aftermath of her son’s death, hoping to reach people who are going through similar struggles after the loss of a loved one.
“I already battle with and beat myself up tirelessly and chronically, blaming myself every single day and that’s hard enough to now live with, but others will judge and blame you too, even secretly or behind your back which is even more cruel and painful on top of everything else,” she penned in the lengthy piece. “This is where finding others who have experienced a similar loss can be the only way to go. Support groups that have your specific kind of loss in common. I go to them, and I hold them for other bereaved parents at my home.”
Source From: www.usmagazine.com
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