So sorry for your loss. I lost my beloved Rascal (aka Poofy Poof) a year ago and it's still so painful. I too kept his favorite things and have them with his cremation box. I had even requested his paw prints and a snip of fur from his tummy. He was part Main Coon and had really cute curly fur...
Sounds like it is an old injury since theres nothing oozing, which means the eye has healed but it is indeed blind in that eye. The only reason a dead eye would need to be removed is if its infected for too long.
Hi! I'm new here as well but I was in your place just a couple of months ago. We now have a rescued kitten with a dead eye. He had goo coming out of it and the inside of the eye was trying to break through to the outside. A trip to the vet got us an oral and a topical antibiotic. Luckily we had...