They keep them as a way of bringing a memory they had together back to them. They are also a lasting record of experiences that person had. Think about the way some tastes or other sensory information brings back a memory of childhood. A photo does it visually. If you haven't met the deceased, if they are our ancestors, keeping them or bibles with info in it is a way to honor their memory. That they were more than DNA.

This was in a reply to kimjohnson.