Why Did Gladys Presley Die?

Gladys Presley was only 46 when she died, after being hospitalized with hepatitis in 1958, when Elvis was undergoing basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, after being drafted into the Army. Elvis returned to Memphis on emergency leave, but Gladys died at the hospital of heart failure.

How did Elvis mother get hepatitis?

By the beginning of 1958 she was suffering with (undiagnosed) hepatitis, brought on by alcoholism. She told her cousin she was “the most miserable woman on earth”. When Elvis was inducted into the army in March 1958, it was the beginning of the end for Gladys, especially when she learned he would be posted to Germany.

What really happened to Gladys Presley?

Shortly after, Gladys was diagnosed with hepatitis, and her condition worsened very quickly. Elvis was given emergency leave to visit her, arriving in Memphis on August 12, but she died on August 14, 1958, of heart failure at age 46.