Arthur Ricca (aka Art or Artie), 84, longtime resident of Merrimack, NH passed away on Sunday, September 14th, 2025 at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA, after a period of declining health.

Art was born in Brooklyn, NY on January 28th, 1941 to the late Benjamin and Margaret (Vanderberg) Ricca.  Along with his parents, Arthur was pre-deceased by his loving wife, Sharon (Malone) Ricca on September 24th, 2015, along with his only sibling, his sister, Maryrose Bono.  He will be forever loved and remembered by his three children, Benjamin Ricca and his wife Jillian, Kathleen Blevins and Michele Ricca; five grandchildren, Angela, Jake, Lexi, Steve and Raina; along with several nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and many cousins.

In 1957, Art graduated from Aviation High School in New York while he also completed night high school, so he would meet the prerequisites to attend college.  At that time, he was active in school government, the Honor Society, and the swim team including diving. He also worked as a lifeguard at Coney Island and neighborhood pools. Furthermore, Art was a photographer for the high school yearbook.  One of his teachers asked him to attend an event in Harlem, because she could not get a newspaper photographer to cover it.  After the event, Art reported that Lena Horne was a very lovely person.

In 1973, Art graduated with a Degree in Transportation Management from Queensborough Community College. In 1974, he graduated with a B.S. Degree in Business Management from Brauch College. In 1976, through City University of NY, he earned his license as a Teacher of Career Education in Aviation in both Airframe and Power-plants to be able to teach at Aviation High School.

Art had a long civilian career in Aviation. He worked as an aviation mechanic for Pan Am, Braniff, and Texas International airlines before retiring, in 2008, from the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], as an Aviation Safety Inspector based out of Logan Airport in Boston, MA. He always reported that his favorite plane to work on were 747s. Arthur also greatly enjoyed working the Air Shows around New England for the FAA.

During his time in the FAA, he received multiple recognition awards for Superior Efforts on Behalf of the Flight Standards Mission and he received the New England Region Barrier Breaker Award.  In 2007, Art was honored with The Charles Taylor "Master Mechanic" Award.  It "recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior mechanics" with "50 or more years of civil and military maintenance experience."

Arthur enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served active duty from 1961 to 1965.  From 1975 until his retirement in 2001, Arthur joined the U.S. NAVY Reserves focused on Aviation. During his time in the Navy he received numerous awards, including two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and five P-3 Orion Golden Wrench Awards.  He did receive numerous other awards/ribbons, however, the family was unable to get an official listing prior to this posting.  He served in the U.S. military for a total of 30 years. Here are all the places he served:

Air Force Basic Military Training , Lackland AFB, TX

Aircraft Mechanic Jet Fighter "A" School, Amarilla, TX

98th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Dover AFB, DE

52nd Field Maintenance Squadron, Suffolk County AFB, NY

USAF Reserves (IRR)

VT-0384 Naval Air Reserves Detachment

VP-92 NAS South Weymouth, MA

VR-53 NAS Dallas, TX

VR-59 NAS Dalas, TX

VP-92 NAS South Weymouth, MA

VP-92 NAS Brunswick, ME

Art was very proud to be a Navy Limited Duty Officer [LDO] aka "Mustang". It is when a Navy enlisted personnel is promoted to an Officer. He stated that he was every rank there was up to a Commander, which was a rank he never dreamed he'd achieve.

He enjoyed re-enlisting his squadron members, plus the Oath of Office for his daughter, aboard the U.S.S. Constitution, which was his favorite ship.  For his retirement, he was able to keep a shell casing from the cannon that was fired from the ship.  He enjoyed barbeques, mentoring, and the overall camaraderie of his fellow brothers and sisters in the military.  He had nothing but the utmost respect for the people he served with.

Arthur was noted to say, "It costs nothing to be kind to others."  He aimed to be morally and ethically strong in which he served as a good role model.  He was a great dad, uncle, cousin, friend, educator, mentor, and he was kind with a unique sense of humor.  He was quite the extrovert and never met a stranger.

A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 16 Baboosic Lake Road, Merrimack NH on Friday, September 26th, 2025 at 11 AM. Burial with military honors will follow at Last Rest Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Arthur's memory can be made to Building Dreams for Marines, PO Box 1704, Nashua, NH 03061.  Tax ID: 27-4966984