The one shocking thing Elvis requested for his funeral | Secrets of Graceland | HO!!

When Elvis Presley died at just 42 years old on August 16, 1977, the world was stunned. Fans wept outside Graceland, news outlets flooded the airwaves, and millions struggled to accept that the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was gone. But behind the grief and global shock was a lesser-known story — a haunting final request Elvis made about his burial, one that his father, Vernon Presley, ultimately could not fulfill.

For decades, the truth about Elvis’s funeral arrangements has been clouded by rumor and myth. But former Graceland housekeeper Nancy Rooks, who worked for Elvis from 1967 until his death, revealed in her book Inside Graceland the intimate details of the Presley family’s private struggle to honor Elvis’s wishes — and the chilling series of events that changed where the King would rest forever.

“He Never Wanted to Be Buried in the Ground”

According to Nancy Rooks, Elvis had a deep fear of being buried underground.

“Elvis always said he didn’t want to be buried in the ground,” she recalled. “I heard him say it several times, and so did other friends and family members.”

That wish was well known within Graceland. Vernon Presley, Elvis’s devoted father and estate executor, had even purchased an above-ground crypt at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. It was the same cemetery where Elvis’s beloved mother, Gladys Presley, had been buried in 1958 after her sudden death.

Elvis adored his mother and had commissioned a statue of Jesus and two angels to stand watch over her grave. When he passed away nearly two decades later, Vernon ensured that Elvis’s body was placed in an above-ground crypt, just as his son had wanted. Gladys’s casket was moved from her hilltop grave to rest directly below her son’s in the same marble mausoleum.

For a brief moment, Elvis’s final wish had been fulfilled. But just two weeks after his burial, that peace was shattered.

A Plot to Steal the King

In late August 1977, Memphis police were alerted to a chilling plan — a group of men was allegedly conspiring to steal Elvis Presley’s body and hold it for ransom. The news terrified Vernon. He had already lost his son, and now his boy’s grave might be desecrated.

The security threat forced Vernon to make a heartbreaking decision: Elvis and Gladys would be moved from Forest Hill Cemetery to Graceland itself — the place where Elvis had lived, loved, and created his legend.

However, this relocation created a painful dilemma. To move Elvis to Graceland, Vernon would have to bury him in the ground, something Elvis had always feared.

“I Need to Bring My Son and His Mama Home”

Nancy Rooks remembered Vernon’s torment vividly. “He and Grandma had already decided that the Meditation Garden area was to become the final resting place, not just for Elvis and Gladys, but for the two of them as well,” she said.

Vernon struggled to reconcile his son’s wishes with the realities of cost, safety, and local law. He had originally wanted to build an elaborate above-ground mausoleum within Graceland’s Meditation Garden — but after receiving several bids, he realized the estate simply couldn’t afford such a project.

“Elvis’s status meant it would have to be something grand,” Nancy wrote. “But Vernon just didn’t have the money.”

Another factor weighed heavily on him: security. A burial in the ground would be harder for anyone to tamper with. Ultimately, Vernon made the difficult choice to go against Elvis’s final wish.

Still, his heart was set on bringing the King home. “Nancy,” he said one night, “they don’t seem to understand — I need to bring my son and his mama home.”

The Secret Second Funeral

On October 2, 1977, a quiet, private funeral procession took place inside Graceland’s gates. Only a few family members and close friends were present — a stark contrast to the massive public funeral held weeks earlier.

Early that morning, workers dug two graves near the pool and fountain area of the Meditation Garden. Electrical lines had to be rerouted, and fresh landscaping was laid down to prepare the sacred space. Two massive concrete vaults were lowered into the ground — one for Elvis, one for Gladys. Vernon also ordered the area designed to accommodate two more graves: one for himself and one for his mother, Minnie Mae Presley.

Nancy Rooks described the atmosphere as deeply emotional and eerie. “I can’t explain what it felt like, staring into that open vault, knowing Elvis would soon be placed there forever,” she said.

As dusk fell, two white horses and a pair of limousines carried the caskets from Forest Hill to Graceland. The service began quietly around 7:00 p.m. “I don’t even remember who conducted it,” Nancy recalled. “It was very short and simple. Vernon had said the family had already suffered enough.”

When the ceremony ended, Vernon stood over the new graves and said softly, “I think everybody’s happy about it now. We’re more at ease. We finally got them home.”

A Family Resting Together

Vernon brought the statue of Jesus and the two angels from Gladys’s old gravesite to the Meditation Garden, recreating the spiritual peace his son had wanted for his mother. He even commissioned a bronze plaque for Jesse Garon Presley, Elvis’s twin brother who died at birth, though the family was never able to locate Jesse’s actual remains.

By 1978, Vernon had added bronze markers for both Elvis and Gladys, their names and birthdates etched into history. That same year, the Meditation Garden was opened to the public — free of charge. Visitors could walk quietly through the garden between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., paying their respects to the Presley family.

Today, that tradition continues. Early morning “walk-up” visits remain open to the public from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. daily — a ritual pilgrimage for fans from around the world.

Vernon himself passed away in 1979, just two years after his son. His mother, Minnie Mae, died in 1980. Both were buried beside Elvis and Gladys in the Meditation Garden — fulfilling Vernon’s dream of keeping the family together.

The Next Generation Joins the King

Four decades later, tragedy struck the Presley family once more. In 2020, Elvis’s only grandson, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide at the age of 27. His burial at Graceland marked the first new addition to the Meditation Garden since 1980 — and unlike Elvis, Benjamin was buried above ground, honoring the same wish his grandfather once had.

Then, in 2023, Elvis’s only child, Lisa Marie Presley, passed away at 54. She was buried beside her son, bringing three generations of Presleys together once again.

Following Lisa Marie’s death, documents revealed that Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s former wife, had also requested to be buried at Graceland — a wish that was approved by both Lisa Marie before her passing and her daughter, Riley Keough, who is now the sole trustee of the estate.

Many fans initially questioned why Priscilla, who divorced Elvis in 1973, would want to be buried near him. But as the years passed, the reasoning became clearer — it was about family unity and honoring the Presleys’ shared legacy at Graceland.

Priscilla’s Final Resting Place Confirmed

As part of the settlement finalized on August 4, 2023, between Priscilla Presley and the Graceland estate, Riley Keough agreed that Priscilla will be buried at Graceland — near Elvis. According to court documents, her burial plot will be placed as close to Elvis as possible, without disturbing any existing grave sites.

“Priscilla wanted to be with her family,” a source close to the estate shared. “It’s about peace, legacy, and keeping the Presley name together in the place Elvis loved most.”

The Legacy Lives On

Nearly half a century after Elvis’s passing, Graceland remains a symbol of both his life and the complicated love story of the Presley family. The Meditation Garden — once meant as a simple private resting place — has become one of the most visited gravesites in the world, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

And while Elvis’s greatest wish — never to be buried in the ground — was ultimately left unfulfilled, his father’s promise was: the King finally came home.

As Vernon said that quiet October night in 1977, “I just wanted to bring my son and his mama home.”
He did — and that’s where the Presley family rests together, forever, at Graceland.