IN MEMORIAM -- July 11, 2011 at 5:03 PM EDT

'Betty Ford: The Real Deal' Charts Public Battles, Personal Triumphs

By: News Desk

We've been looking back at the life of Betty Ford -- outspoken wife of President Gerald Ford, advocate for breast cancer awareness and activist for equality issues -- who died Friday at age 93.

Ford's life in the public eye included a battle with alcohol and painkiller addiction, which also led to the creation of one of the world's most famous rehabilitation centers.

A 2009 documentary "Betty Ford: The Real Deal" looked back on Ford's life, including her public battles and personal triumphs.

"I'm sure they will remember me in recovery and perhaps with the Equal Rights Amendment and certainly the breast cancer. Those were all big things for me but if I hadn't been married to my husband, I never would have had the voice that I did when those things arose. So being married to him was probably the biggest decision I made and the best decision I made," Ford said in the film.

Watch the full documentary here:


A memorial service will be held for Ford on Tuesday St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, Calif. She will be buried in Grand Rapids, Mich., near her late husband.

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