John Connell Park was born on 4 May 1933 in Newtownards, County Down, the son of Samuel Park, a general practitioner, and Edith Helen Connell, a schoolteacher. He was educated at Repton and Queen's University, Belfast. He did his junior appointments at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, and then decided to specialise in urology. He became resident surgical officer at St Peter's, St Paul's and St Philip's Hospital under Howard Hanley and Sir David Innes Williams. His rotation included a period under W W Wiggins-Davies at Portsmouth. In 1962, he married Helen Veronica Albertini; they had three sons, Rory, Danny and Sam, and a daughter, Annabel. He died on 1 September 1997.