Jack Park

Jack Park, Legal Scholar and Eagle Scout

On March 16, 2026, John J. Park, Jr., one of the kindest men who ever lived, died from a rare form of ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease). Jack was born in 1954 in Washington, D.C. and was the oldest son of John and Rita Park. He is survived by his brothers Tom, Bob (DiAnn), Jim (Geneva), and Joe (Lisa), and his sisters Mary Norris (Steve) and Beth McWilliams (Terry).

He was the beloved husband of the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Park, stepfather to Joshua Shows (Kate), Rebekah Boswell (Ford), Stephen Shows (Laurie), and Jordan Shows (Anastasia), and the very proud grandfather to Finn, Norah, Graham, Jackson, Luke, and Elizabeth.

Jack's life was quite simply extraordinary. He received his B.A. in History from the University of Virginia in 1977, graduating with Highest Distinction. After graduating Yale Law School in 1980, he served active duty in the U.S. Army's JAG Corps, rising to the rank of Major, where he represented the United States in more than 250 cases. This was just the beginning of a distinguished legal career.

He practiced for a decade as an Associate for Bradley Arant in Birmingham, Alabama. He proudly served the State of Alabama in the Office of the Attorney General, both as Deputy and Assistant Attorney General, handling complex civil and criminal litigation cases for the people of Alabama. In 2000, he won the "Best Brief Award" from the National Association of Attorneys General for his brief in a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, James Alexander v. Martha Sandoval – a case he won. He was Special Assistant to the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service, Visiting Legal Fellow for the Center for Judicial and Legal Studies for the Heritage Foundation, Of Counsel at Strickland Brockington Lewis, a solo practitioner, and General Counsel for Indigo Energy.

Most recently, he "re-upped" for military service, volunteering his legal services to the Georgia State Defense Force where twice each month he provided legal services for National Guardsmen who were being deployed. He wore his military uniform for the last time in October 2024.

He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Virginia and a lifelong fan of UVA basketball. His football allegiance, however, was always with the University of Alabama.

His greatest joy was his marriage and serving alongside and in support of his wife's ministry as an Episcopal priest, teaching youth Sunday School and partnering with other youth leaders to lead a youth pilgrimage to Iona in Scotland. He also loved assisting in coaching young boys' basketball, where he could share the same sort of mentoring experience with young boys that had shaped his own life.

Jack was an ardent reader to say the least. To receive the gift of a hand-selected book from Jack was a special honor. He loved music and being part of a large family. For years, he kept a framed photo of a holiday family Christmas gathering on his dining table, so that he was always with his parents, brothers, and sisters.

He often said that, of all the opportunities he enjoyed in life, he was proudest of accomplishing the rank of Eagle Scout, with a certificate signed by President Nixon. His law school classmate, Steve Matthews, said it best: "Jack was the most decent human being imaginable. Scholarly, professional, patriotic, funny, unfailingly kind, and utterly devoted to family and friends." We could not agree more, Steve. Thank you.

A funeral service will be held on April 21, 2026, at 2:00 pm at St. James Episcopal Church in Black Mountain, NC. Memorial Donations may be made to the Scholarship Fund at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria Virginia, ALS Research at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, or St. James Episcopal Church, Black Mountain, NC.