When our loved ones pass, their photos can be our most important source of memories. They retain the stories from when we were young or even before we were born that we can then share with our children.

As his mother's illness set in, Takashi Fukuyama realized he had tons of photos of his kids to show her as well as endless questions about her photos. Years after her passing, however, he stumbled into some old albums she had tucked away and opened up a vault of nostalgia from his childhood and from her days as a younger woman. 2,000-plus scanned photos later, Takashi has everything he needs to keep her memory alive. Take a look at his touching story.