Additional Coverage:
Elvis Presley’s final resting place wasn’t originally intended to be at Graceland. The iconic singer, who passed away on August 16, 1977, was initially laid to rest at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, alongside his mother, Gladys.
The days following Elvis’s death saw an outpouring of grief from fans. Thousands flocked to Graceland, creating traffic gridlock, and an estimated 25,000 mourners filed past his body during a public viewing.
His 900-pound coffin required six pallbearers for the subsequent burial at Forest Hill. Over 50,000 fans continued to pay their respects at the cemetery, leaving thousands of floral arrangements.
However, a shocking turn of events led to a relocation. Less than two weeks later, a grave robbery plot targeting Elvis’s remains was uncovered, prompting his father, Vernon, to petition for reburial at Graceland. Permission was granted, and on October 2, 1977, Elvis and Gladys were moved to the Meditation Garden on the Graceland estate.
Vernon joined them in 1979, followed by Elvis’s grandmother, Minnie Mae, in 1980. More recently, Elvis’s grandson, Benjamin Keough (who died in 2020), and daughter, Lisa Marie Presley (who died in 2023), were also laid to rest in above-ground tombs in the Meditation Garden.