From the Ridiculous to the Courageous: Notable People Who Passed On in 2011 | Eastern North Carolina Now

Harmon Killebrew: Born June 29, 1936, Died May 17, 2011 - pictured above.
    Minnesota Twins great Harmon Killebrew died following a long battle with cancer. The hall of famer played for three teams over 22 seasons and is regarded by many as one of the best to ever play the game. Harmon Killebrew, a first baseman, was primarily a home run hitter.
John Mackey: Born September 24, 1941, died July 6, 2011 - pictured above.
    Baltimore Colts tight-end John Mackey, along with Mike Ditka, was one of the NFL's first premier pass catching tight-ends, a position initially designed for primarily blocking.

    In 1992, John Mackey was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was also the first National Football League Players Association president.

    John Mackey died after a decade long battle with frontal temporal dementia.
Betty Ford: Born April 8, 1918, died July 8, 2011. Pictured with her husband of 58 years, United States President Gerald R. Ford - above.
    She founded the Betty Ford Center for the treatment of chemical dependencies a mile from her home in 1982. Since then it has treated more than 75,000 people.

   The former first lady was always known for her candor and her dedication to the women's movement.

   Betty Ford died of natural causes.
Geraldine Anne Ferraro: Born August 26, 1935, died March 26, 2011 - pictured above.
   Ms. Ferraro, who was educated as a teacher and then a lawyer, was elected a member of the United States House of Representatives representing the Borough of Queens, New York. Representative Ferraro was picked at the Democrat Convention in 1984 to run as former U.S. Vice-President Walter Mondale's running mate. She was the first woman ever to be selected as such.

   The always outspoken for former representative, when serving in former Senator Hillary Clinton's inner circle to elect her president, once stated, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

   Geraldine Ferraro died of pneumonia, often a complication of the cancer that she was stricken with.
Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, Born February 27, 1932, died March 23, 2011 - pictured above.
    Hollywood screen legend, who earned two Oscars in her career, Elizabeth Taylor began her career as a child actress from Great Britain, during World War II. She went on to make 50 films.

   A talented actress, with a rare beauty on screen, Elizabeth Taylor was similarly just as famous for her off screen exploits, which included eight marriages.

   The venerable actress died of congestive heart failure.
Jane Russell: Born June 21, 1921, died February 28, 2011 - pictured above.
   The brunette bombshell, whose breakout role came in the 1941 western "The Outlaw," was known for buxom figure. Russell, who also costarred with Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," continued to sing and use her celebrity for charity work after her film career slowed down in the 1960s.

   The statuesque actress died of natural causes just a few weeks after her health started to decline.
Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III: Born September 9, 1923, died September 10, 2011 - pictured above as John F. Kennedy in "P.T.109," 1963.
   The veteran actor, who won an Oscar for his role as a mentally disabled man in 1968's "Charly," His other film credits included "PT 109," in which he played a young John F. Kennedy. More recently, Robertson appeared as Tobey Maguire's Uncle Ben in the first installment of the "Spider Man" the film screen series.

   Actor Cliff Robertson died of natural causes.
Harry Morgan: Born April 10, 1915, died December 7, 2011 - pictured above with Actor Henry Fonda (left) in this film still from the film, "The Ox-Bow Incident," 1943.
   Character Actor Harry Morgan, born as Harry Bratsberg, appeared in multiple films, but gained enduring popularity for two roles on television - the television version of "M.A.S.H." as Colonel Sherman T. Potter and Police Detective Bill Gannon on the Cult Classic "Dragnet." Morgan won an Emmy for his regular role and was nominated 9 times for his of Colonel Potter on "M.A.S.H."

   Harry Morgan died of pneumonia at the age of 96.