Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
He would laugh and shake his head at the advancement of medicine,” she says. “But he would still tell us to brush, floss and use a waterpik.
In 1928, Norris Hirsch walked across the stage to receive his diploma from the Creighton University School of Dentistry. One hundred years later, his great-granddaughter, Justine Marbach, is preparing to do the same.
Although Marbach never met Hirsch, she has spent her life hearing stories about the dentist, gardener, fisherman and community leader who left a lasting impression on generations of patients in western Kansas.
Now a second-year student at the Creighton University School of Dentistry, Marbach is discovering a connection to Creighton that began long before she existed.
“It is so amazing to me that my family came from Nebraska, and 100 years later, I returned to the very same school for the same career,” Marbach says. “From the moment I arrived to Omaha and Creighton, it has felt like home, and I have to believe that my great grandpa has contributed to that feeling.”
Small town roots
Born July 12, 1906, in Bloomington, Nebraska, Hirsch grew up in a family of hog farmers. His father was also a tinsmith and handyman. Hirsch’s childhood looked very different from that of today’s dental students. He rode to school in a cart pulled by a pony, and his high school graduating class included just 13 students.
Despite financial challenges, Hirsch pursued higher education and eventually enrolled at Creighton University School of Dentistry. To help pay for school, he worked at the Aksarben horse racing track in Omaha.
Dental school was not easy. According to family stories, Hirsch was the only student in his class who could not afford a traditional white coat for his class photo. Instead, he wore a white cardigan sweater.
For Marbach, that story adds even more meaning to receiving her own white coat next year. Today, the Creighton Dental Board funds the embroidery on the white coats that the Office of Student Affairs in the School provides.
“It’s almost like he is paying for my white coat when I receive it in a year,” she says.
Marbach often reflects on the sacrifices her great-grandfather made to become a dentist.
“It’s amazing to think of how hard he had to work to make it through college and dental school, and it makes me appreciate my journey much more and not take it for granted,” she says.
A dentist who became part of a community
After graduating from Creighton, Hirsch moved to Goodland, Kansas, where he began his dental practice and married Dorothy Romig. Together, they raised two daughters, Mignon and Judy, the former of whom is Marbach’s grandmother.
Hirsch was drafted into the Army Dental Corps in 1940, where he served as a captain and provided dental care for soldiers in basic training and those returning from war.
After serving his country, Hirsch continued to serve his community as the only dentist within roughly a 100-mile radius, making him a familiar and trusted figure in those communities.
“Families from all over western Kansas came to Goodland to see him,” Marbach says.
His dental practice became a place where generations of families received care, and his legacy remains part of the community today. His original dental chair is now preserved in the High Plains Museum in Goodland, serving as a reminder of the many patients he cared for throughout his career.
During summers spent with her grandparents in Goodland, Marbach’s mother Sarah Marbach saw firsthand how much the community valued Hirsch. While participating on the town’s swim team, swim officials would frequently approach her and ask if Doc Hirsch was her grandfather, because he was their dentist.
“Everyone knew Doc Hirsch,” says Sarah.
Family memories that span generations
To his family, Hirsch was a devoted grandfather who loved gardening, fishing and spending time with the people around him.
Hirsch and Sarah shared birthdays just one day apart, creating a special tradition they celebrated together every summer until she was a teenager.
In his backyard garden, he grew enough vegetables to provide for the family throughout the year, with his harvest later canned and stored by his wife, Dorothy.
Fishing was another family tradition. Whenever Hirsch visited his grandchildren in Durango, Colorado, he made time to take them fishing. One of the family’s favorite stories comes from her uncle, David Kirkpatrick. One day, creativity struck and Hirsch attached two hooks about three feet apart and caught two trout on a single cast, achieving a rare accomplishment her uncle compares to making an ace in golf.
A changing profession, a shared calling
Hirsch’s career began in a very different era of dentistry. He practiced without gloves or masks, relied on boiling water to sterilize instruments and worked with equipment that required a hand-operated pump to raise and lower the dental chair.
As a left-handed dentist, he also had to adapt to equipment designed for right-handed practitioners.
“He had to contort himself in odd positions to be able to work,” Marbach says.
She’s preparing to enter a profession that has transformed dramatically since Hirsch’s time, but she believes he would appreciate the continued focus on prevention and patient care.
“He would laugh and shake his head at the advancement of medicine,” she says. “But he would still tell us to brush, floss and use a waterpik.”
Continuing a century-old Creighton connection
Marbach’s path to Creighton began when her mother encouraged her to apply because of Hirsch’s history with the university.
After being accepted at Creighton, she began to see how much they shared, like their passion for caring for others.
Her family has eagerly shared photos, stories and memories of Hirsch, bringing generations closer together while helping Marbach better understand the person behind the legacy.
“It has been really special looking through all the memories and photos that my family has kept and getting to know the man who is a part of me and my family.”
As she prepares to graduate from Creighton School of Dentistry in 2029, a little over 100 years after Hirsch, Marbach feels the significance of their shared Creighton journey.
“I think that he would be very proud of me and excited for me to begin my career in dentistry helping people,” she says.
