Such a touching and heartwarming backstory for an accessory, Debbie.
I can't say I've actually bought something to remember someone who's passed on; it's more about cherishing their gifts or favourite objects --- like my grandma's ring that was given to her by my grandfather as a child bride of 11 (was the norm in those days, though something *her* father hated to do; but there were difficult and dangerous circumstances that necessitated it at the time, in her case).
She'd never worn it in my lifetime, being shorn of jewellery per our cultural norms as an young widow when my mother was an infant --- but it has a contraction of her name on it, which is precious to me, especially as the contraction itself means 'friend'. She was her husband's friend and playmate in his young adulthood, before she was his 'wife', and she was the best friend of my childhood. I like how it links us all together, not just her and me or her to the playmate she lost too early in life, but also me to the grandparent I never knew.
ETA: Ha! I did buy bobbin earrings (literally spools of purple thread strung on silver wire) recently on Father's Day, and was thinking of my Dad while I wore them all through yesterday! He's going to shake his head and call them 'crazy' but I know he's also going to be amused when he sees them.
