Port Jeff Dentist Dr. Mark Cherches Dies at 85
Dr. Mark Cherches
Dr. Mark L. Cherches, of Port Jefferson, died Sept. 18. He was 85.
The well-known area dentist was born Sept. 22, 1934 in the Bronx. After graduating from New York University College of Dentistry in 1959, he served in the U.S. Army as a captain and was stationed in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
He moved to Rocky Point in 1962, and then moved to Port Jefferson in 1969.
Dr. Cherches practiced dentistry in both Rocky Point and Port Jefferson for 55 years. He was fiercely devoted to his patients and provided dental education programs to both the Rocky Point and Port Jefferson school districts.
Dr. Cherches was a past recipient of TBR News Media’s Person of the Year award for Health and Medicine and received the Theodore Roosevelt Award from St. Charles Hospital for his extraordinary commitment and volunteerism to the hospital.
For decades, he donated his time as director of the dental residency program at St. Charles Hospital and as a supervising dentist at the Cleft Palate Clinic at St. Charles. He was also on staff at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, now called Mather Hospital.
He was an active member of the Port Jefferson Lions Club for over 55 years and was an active member of the North Shore Jewish Center since 1962. He was an avid skier, golfer, tennis player, bicyclist, photographer, boater and fisherman. He had a lifelong passion for learning. Later in life, he volunteered his time to the Long Island Veterans Home in Stony Brook.
Cherches was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley. He is survived by his son, Gary (Kate); his son, Eric (Barbara); and by his two beloved granddaughters, Joanna and Carly. He is also survived by his beloved sister, Helen Weissman; and by many loving nieces and nephews.
Arrangements were entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapels in Smithtown, and internment took place at Washington Memorial Park. Donations in Dr. Cherches’ memory can be made to North Shore Jewish Center or to the Dental Clinic at St. Charles Hospital.
