What realization does the narrator make about the old man's hand in Chapter 28?

In a particularly touching moment that symbolizes the devotion the narrator has for the old man she had loved so much throughout her life, she realizes in Chapter 28 that she is fortunate that the old man did not live to see "the disappearances of the body" (271). The reader wonders for a moment why this might be, but she quickly explains, saying, "That meant that I could still recall the feeling of his dear hand in mine" (271).