Donald Joyce Hall (July 9, 1928 – October 13, 2024) was an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman from

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. He was chairman and president of

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...

, the world's largest greeting card manufacturer. In 2015, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' estimated his family's net worth to be $2.8 billion.

Early life

Donald Joyce Hall was born on July 9, 1928, in

, to Elizabeth Ann (née Dilday) and

Joyce Hall Joyce Clyde Hall (August 29, 1891 – October 29, 1982), better known as J. C. Hall, was an American businessman and the founder of Hallmark Cards. Early life Joyce Clyde Hall was born on August 29, 1891, in David City, Nebraska, to Nancy "Nan ...

. His father was the founder and president of

. He graduated from Pembroke-Country Day School. In 1946, he worked as a sales trainee and later as an assistant salesman for Hallmark. Hall graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1950 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in economics. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from September 1950 to October 1953, spending time in

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

, Japan. He attained the rank of first lieutenant.

Career

Following his military service, Hall returned to Hallmark in 1953 and became assistant to the president in 1954. In 1956, he became a director. In March 1958, Hall was elected administrative vice president. On March 16, 1966, Hall's father, Joyce Hall, retired as president and Hall became president of Hallmark. In 1981, he oversaw the litigation from the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, which cost the company more than $100 million. In 1983, he stepped down as president and became chairman of the board. Irvine O. Hockaday Jr. succeeded him as president. He served as chairman emeritus of Hallmark from 2016 to his death.

Philanthropy

Hall was chair of the Hall Family Foundation. He was a founding member of the Kansas City Community Foundation. He helped start the Kansas City Area Economic Development Council. In 1972, he led the "Prime Time" campaign in Kansas City to market the city as "one of the few livable cities left". He was credited with locating the

1976 Republican National Convention The 1976 Republican National Convention was a United States political convention of the Republican Party that met from August 16 to August 19, 1976, to select the party's nominees for president and vice president. Held in Kemper Arena in Kansa ...

to Kansas City. He served on the board of trustees of

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...

for 31 years and in the 1960s helped establish the Hallmark Photographic Collection. In 2005, the collection was donated to the Nelson-Atkins museum. He was chairman of the board of

MRIGlobal MRIGlobal is an American independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, with regional offices in Virginia and Maryland. In addition to its own research laboratories, MRIGlobal operates research facilit ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

appointed Hall as chairman of the

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) was an advisory committee to the President of the United States on cultural issues. It works directly with the White House and the three primary cultural agencies: the National End ...

. In 2005, he served on the boards of the

Kansas City Symphony The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is an American symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The orchestra is resident at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra performs a 42-week season, and is also the accompanying o ...

, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre,

Lyric Opera of Kansas City Lyric Opera of Kansas City is an American opera company located in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1958 by conductor Russell Patterson, the company presents an annual season of four operas at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Prod ...

and the Full Employment Council.

Personal life and death

Hall married Adele Coryell, of

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, on November 28, 1953. They had three children, Margaret Elizabeth, David Earl and Donald J. Hall Jr. His wife died in 2013. Hall lived in Mission Hills, Kansas. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Hall died at home on October 13, 2024, at the age of 96.

Awards and honors

* 1972: Kansas Citizen of the Year * 1977: Parsons Award for "extraordinary contributions to the arts and culture" from the

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

* 1982: Governor's Award from the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the Television in the United States, television industry in the United S ...

* 1985: Awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

by President Ronald Reagan * 1985: Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy * 1985: Award of excellence from the Kansas City Architectural Foundation and honorary membership in the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

* 1992: Kansas Business Hall of Fame in 1992 * 1995: Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

* 2000: Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from Dartmouth College

Legacy

In 2013, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art established the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Donald J. Sr. 1928 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century United States Army personnel 21st-century American Episcopalians 21st-century American businesspeople American art patrons American billionaires American chief executives of manufacturing companies Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Businesspeople from Kansas Dartmouth College alumni Hallmark Cards people Kansas Business Hall of Fame inductees Pembroke Hill School alumni People from Mission Hills, Kansas Philanthropists from the Kansas City metropolitan area United States Army officers