Ricky K. Ahart died March 11, 2002. He was born in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 18, 1958, the son of Geneva Watson Ahart of Fayetteville and Clifford Ahart of Huntsville.

He was a 1976 graduate of Fayetteville High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1977, completing the airborne course of the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and serving as a Specialist 4 through 1980.

He is buried at National Cemetery in Fayetteville.