Updated: Cause of Death in Cise Case Ruled Natural

Police have announced the cause of Mark Cise's death was natural.

Cise, a member of the city's Department of Community Programs, died Friday night after a car accident on Beekman Terrace.

But Summit Police Traffic Lt. John Dougherty said the prosecutor's office now says the he cause of death was a heart condition, not a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

Police received the initial call of a motor vehicle accident around 10:50 p.m. Friday night. Upon arrival they found Cise's Jeep against a tree on Beekman Terrace, a horseshoe-shaped road that is half-paved and half-gravel. The city's Board of Education and Wilson Primary School are also located on Beekman Terrace.

"For an unknown reason the vehicle left the roadway and came to rest after striking a tree," Dougherty said.

Cise was found unconscious at the scene and was taken to Overlook Hospital where he was pronounced dead, he said.

Police are still awaiting the medical examiner's report. It is still unclear as to why Cise was driving on Beekman Terrace in the first place.

"There's really no reason to go on that road, it's not a shortcut anywhere," Dougherty said. '"But that answer may have died with him."

Judith Josephs, director of the Department of Community Programs, said Mark was a paid golf attendant at the municipal golf course but volunteered for the city in numerous other capacities, including coaching sports teams.

"Everybody loves Mark," she said. "He’s got an infectious, contagious, positive attitude. He always did."

Most recently when the department was preparing to roll out its new mascot, Shark Diddy, Josephs said she asked Cise if he'd be willing to be the mascot for a ceremony at city hall.

"I said, 'I have a special appearance for you. Would you consider being Shark Diddy?'" she recalled. "He said 'It would be an honor,' which is Mark."

Josephs also said Cise was the kind of guy you could always depend on, always stepping up when Josephs needed help.

"He was the very first to call and congratulate you on a tournament or special event, he would take some time to pull people aside to tell them what a great job they were doing and if he saw that someone wasn't having a good day, he would make it his goal to make you feel better," she said.

Cise attended Oratory Preparatory School, graduated from Summit High School and studied engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.

According to Cise's obituary in The Star Ledger, Cise's business career included Lucent Technologies; Hartlaub, Dotten, Mezzacca & Ko, and Wave Dispersion Technologies. Cise was a communicant of St. Teresa of Avila R.C. Church, a member of Canoe Brook Country Club and the PBA Bowling Association. He was an active volunteer in the Summit Jr. Baseball League and the Summit Soccer Club. Mark originated the Summit Liberty Golf Tournament and participated with his son in the Annual Youth Golf Outing at the Summit Municipal Golf Course.

Cise was 51. He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Beverly J. Luehs; his son, Justin Steven; his mother, Maria G. Cise, and his siblings, Karen Flaherty and her husband, Jude, John Cise, Ellen Mejias and her husband, Ed, Joanne Jacobs and her husband, Al, and Philip Cise. He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph.

A funeral mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at St. Teresa of Avila Church.

Donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 1 Union St., Suite 301, Robbinsville, NJ 08691 or the Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad, P.O. Box 234, Summit, N.J. 07902.