Elvis’ Death Remembered With Candlelight Procession

The big laminated button on Marion Littig’s T-shirt said it all: “I really miss Elvis.”

Littig and several thousand other pilgrims took part in a candlelight procession Thursday night past Elvis Presley’s grave on the 19th anniversary of his death.

“You have to celebrate this day,” said Littig, who traveled with several friends from the Minneapolis area.

For many Elvis fans, the procession is the crowning event of a weeklong tribute focused on the anniversary. He died at Graceland, his Memphis residence, on Aug. 16, 1977.

The vigil begins each year on the evening of the 15th, drawing up to 10,000 participants and onlookers who pack the street, Elvis Presley Boulevard, in front of Graceland.

The mourners, holding candles fired from Graceland’s eternal flame, marched up a winding, quarter-mile driveway to Presley’s grave in a small garden beside Graceland’s swimming pool.

Many left red roses and other gifts at the grave.

“You kind of get the feeling that he’s still here. It’s hard to explain, but you feel him still there,” Littig said.