Priscilla Presley Mourns Yet Another Loss: Elvis’s Nurse Marian J. Cocke Passes Away

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!

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.

Until her death, she contended that 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,” Marian recalled before her death. “If there were other medications ordered by another physician, we were not aware of them.”

A source tells The National ENQUIRER that Marian was beloved by the Love Me Tender legend. “Even though she was only eight years older than Elvis, he saw Marian as a mother figure, especially since he had lost his own mother, Gladys, back in 1958,” the insider says.

“He would have been too ashamed to ask her for drugs outside the high blood pressure pills she doled out.”

After Elvis’s death, Marian 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!”

Adds the source: “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!”