We find a myriad of written biographies and there may be an autobiography in the paradigm case of famous people. There is no ultimately priviledged point of view here for us. All circulating stories stand in a dialectical relationship with each other, demanding continual revisioning. These things carry the spiritual meaning-traces of the person. Most of them vanish into oblivion over time.
Fame is the crucial variable here.
Commemoration is relative to the size and the affection of the mourning community, of the circle of people who knew the deceased personally or through media. The Process of Immortalization Love used to be considered stronger than death. Nowadays love often does not even survive life. In our era of disposable marriage and family relationships we are lucky to be remembered at all. Fame once outlived the life of its hero.