While helping an elderly uncle sort through a lifetime of accumulated belongings, I came across a small cloth box tucked away among the many possessions. A simple label on the outside caught my attention: “Jewels.” I paused. Truthfully, I felt a little uncomfortable opening it. The box had belonged to a woman named Gracie. I had never met her. She had no children or grandchildren to sort through her belongings after she passed away. My uncle had faithfully helped her during her final years—bringing groceries, picking up prescriptions, and managing practical matters when she could no longer do so herself.…