In a message dated 7/12/2004 6:14:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
peterkirk AT qaya.org writes:
I expect that the meaning is in fact in this context more
like terminating their family line, with "memory" as a metonymy for
"posterity".
There is an interesting analogue in some Jewish communities where a person's
oldest son is referred to as his or her "qaddish", i.e. the one who will
recite the qaddish memorial prayer after his or her death.