This thread has been very interesting to read. I've been to estate sales but never sales run by the family. But I'm not wild about them for several reasons:
I'm trying to downsize.
Dealers get the good stuff first.
I don't like waiting in lines for sometimes a long time.
As far as equating things to the people I agree there are many ways to look at it. Bottom line for me is that it's just "stuff". People are so much more than the sum of their worldly goods. When I'm gone all I care about is that my kids get my quilts and family treasures. They all know what those things are. I don't care about the rest :)