Publishing giant announces death of majority owner, son of founder JC Hall
Hallmark Cards has announced the death of chairman emeritus and majority owner Don Hall, son of the company’s founder JC Hall, at the aged of 96.
Described by PG editor Jakki Brown as “a true forefather of our beloved industry,” Don served as CEO and president of the US-headquartered greeting card giant, guiding the company through what it calls its “greatest period of growth”.
In the announcement, the company said: “His influence fuelled civic initiatives that changed the face of Kansas City and inspired generations of Hallmarkers to be passionate about the products we create and actively involved in our communities.”
The publisher has a tribute page to the man who began his career with the company at 17 and working a sales territory while studying economics at Dartmouth College before serving in the US Army for three years, then returned to Hallmark in 1953.
Mike Perry, Hallmark Cards president and CEO, said: “Don Hall was a visionary whose influence will forever be felt across the Hallmark enterprise. Whether it was producing award-winning Hallmark Hall Of Fame programming, creating the Mahogany line of cards, acquiring Crayola, or driving business expansion into new markets around the world, Don was there every step of the way.
“He was a constant source of encouragement for all Hallmarkers, to think bigger, to always innovate, and to stay focused on the Hallmark mission of helping to bring people together and put more care into the world. We will miss Don so much, but we’ll always marvel at how he grew Hallmark into the company we are today.”
Don became administrative vice-president in 1958, and president and chief executive officer in 1966, when his father JC retired. In 1983, he moved to be chairman, and in 2016, he became chairman emeritus.
His son Donald J Hall Jr joined the business in 1971, becoming president and CEO in 2002, then younger son David E Hall was made president on 2015, and in 2019 Don Jr assumed the role of executive chairman of the board of directors. Daughter Margi Hall Pence took on the family charitable organisation.
Don Sr once told Hallmark employees: “I’ve said many times, I’ve never seen a greeting card sent in anger. It’s marvellous to be in a business where your sole efforts are directed at improving somebody’s feelings.”
And, in an interview for retailers he said: “Trying to make someone else feel better is a joy, and I think we should never lose sight of that in our business. Our products might change a great deal, the methods of delivery might change, certainly production and all manner of things will change over this next century. That’s a thing that will not change, the need for caring for other people will always be a constant.”
Don Jr said: “Dad lived our beliefs and values his whole lifetime, and his ability to translate them in a way that others could understand will remain part of his lasting legacy. He truly believed that Hallmark’s purpose was to enrich people’s lives, and you continue to see that reflected in our brand and our people today.”
Hallmark was founded in 1910 by JC at the age of just 18 when he arrived in Kansas City with two boxes of postcards that he’d been selling in his hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska. His older brother Rollie joined him in the company named Hall Brothers and they moved to selling Valentines and Christmas cards mailed in envelopes.
When a fire destroyed their office in 1915, they bought printing presses and began producing their own cards – inventing wrapping paper along the way when they ran out of coloured tissue paper in their stationery store at Christmas 1917 so substituted fancy French envelope lining paper then started printing their own designs.
In 1928, the year JC’s third child Don was born, Hall Brothers introduced the brand name Hallmark, after the symbol used by goldsmiths on London, and began printing it on the back of every card, with the company name officially changed in 1954.
Services for Donald J. Hall Sr will be held at 3pm today, 18 October, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City.
