Thursday, December 25, 2003

By Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mark Cirbus, a Murrysville oral and maxillofacial surgeon, loved that he made a difference.

His sister, Joan Cirbus of Moorestown, N.J., recalled the response he received after he rebuilt a woman's jaw that had been deformed by cancer.

"He said she was so thankful to be able to open her mouth and bite a sandwich," something the woman hadn't been able to do for years, his sister said.

But in the midst of his active career, Dr. Cirbus, 49, was stricken Tuesday with an apparent heart attack at his Murrysville home. He was declared dead at Forbes Regional Hospital.

The son of an optometrist, Dr. Cirbus knew he wanted to be a doctor from a young age, his sister recalled. He liked to work with small parts and was attuned to the details of building model ships and railroads.

"Mark was always very good working with his hands. The surgery end of it he enjoyed tremendously," Joan Cirbus said.

Dr. Cirbus graduated from Franklin Regional High School and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1975. He graduated from the New York University College of Dentistry in 1978. He was trained in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Ohio State University and Woodhall Hospital in New York City.

Dr. Cirbus also served as a dentist in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Monroe, Va., after dental school, and later served as an oral surgeon during the Gulf War.

He began to practice in Murrysville in 1994. He performed surgeries at Jeannette Hospital and was sometimes called there to treat accident victims. He was a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

In addition to his sister, Dr. Cirbus is survived by his wife, Maria Schwartz Cirbus; a son, Rudy; his parents, Francis A. and Wilma H. Cirbus, of Export; three other sisters, Lisa Sloan of Santa Cruz, Calif., Amy Snare of Ocala, Fla., and Susan Miltenberger of Morgantown,W.Va.; and a brother, James, of Fort Mill, S.C.

Visitation will be from 1 to 3 p.m. tomorrow in Hart Funeral Home, Murrysville.

Services will be at 3 p.m. tomorrow in the funeral home.

The family suggests contributions to the Humane Society of Westmoreland County, P.O. Box 1552, Greensburg, PA 15601, or Murrysville Meals on Wheels, 3202 North Hills Road, Murrysville, PA 15668.

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