EXCLUSIVE: Priscilla Presley 'Reeling' Over Death of Elvis Nurse – 'It's Tragedy After Tragedy For Her and She Feels Like Her Family Are Cursed'
Priscilla Presley is devastated by the death of Elvis' nurse.
March 28 2025, Published 7:30 a.m. ET
Tragedy has hit Priscilla Presley once again – the 79-year-old actress, still grieving the loss of her daughter, Lisa Marie, in 2023, is now mourning the death of Elvis Presley's nurse, one of her last living connections to her former husband, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Marian J. Cocke, who died in early March at the age of 98, cared for the King of Rock and Roll in his final years.
The registered nurse always insisted she was unaware of the illicit drug habits that contributed to his death in 1977 at the age of 42 from a cardiac Arrhythmia.
Marian first cared for Elvis during his many stays at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis before becoming his in-house medical minder at Graceland.
Presley is mourning Marian J. Cocke, Elvis Presley's devoted nurse and longtime family friend.
Until her death, she contended if he was taking illegal recreational drugs, he must have gotten them from an outside source.
"There was never a time that I noted any sort of medication abuse or misuse," Cocke recalled before her death. "If there were other medications ordered by another physician, we were not aware of them."
A source told RadarOnline.com Marian was beloved by the Love Me Tender legend.
"Even though she was only eight years older than Elvis, he saw Cocke as a mother figure, especially since he had lost his own mother, Gladys, back in 1958," the insider added.
Lisa Marie, right, and Riley Keough considered Cocke, center, an 'aunt.'
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They also said: "He would have been too ashamed to ask her for drugs outside the high blood pressure pills she doled out."
After Elvis's death, Cocke grew even closer to Priscilla, becoming a de facto family member.
Lisa Marie and her daughter Riley Keough even considered her an "aunt."
"Marian you will be greatly missed," Priscilla wrote on Instagram when her passing was announced. "Your spirit touched many people and especially Elvis. You were the person that he always counted on. Thank you for always taking care of him."
Our insider added: "Marian was such a connection for Priscilla to Elvis. She would share wonderful stories that Priscilla reveled in hearing.
"It's a heartbreaking loss for her, especially since there are precious few people still alive from those days.
"After so much death in her family, she just feels like it is cursed."
