It was an infection brought on by the AIDS virus which Arthur had contracted from a blood transfusion during heart surgery in 1983. Arthur left behind a wife and a six year old daughter. In his autobiography, he expresses the enduring values which he hopes his daughter and others will embrace. It is also available as an audio book. Both versions are highly recommended.
Nothing comes even close to it in importance.
The living and the dead. My mother, Mattie Cordell Cunningham Ashe, watches me. She died when I was not quite seven. . . . Every day since then I have thought about her. . . She is with me every day, watching me in everything I do.