Don Hall Timeline and Accomplishments
July 9, 1928 – Donald J. Hall born in Kansas City, Missouri, the third child of Joyce C. and Elizabeth Hall.
1946 – Graduated from Pembroke Country Day School.
June 15, 1946 – Officially began career at Hallmark immediately after graduating from high school, covering a large Midwestern territory as an assistant salesman.
1950 – Graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in economics.
1950-53 – Served as an officer in the U.S. Army, serving primarily in Gifu, Japan.
November 28, 1953 – Married Adele Coryell in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1954 – Named assistant to the president of Hall Brothers, soon to officially change its name to Hallmark Cards, Inc.
1956 – Elected to Hallmark’s board of directors.
1958 – Named administrative vice president.
March 1966 – Elected president and chief executive officer of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
September 16, 1968 – Groundbreaking for development of Crown Center complex, envisioned and championed by Don and his father, Hallmark founder J.C. Hall.
1972 – Co-founded Prime Time News Bureau with Charles Kimball (president of the Midwest Research Institute) to promote media coverage of Kansas City. The effort was regarded as a key factor in bringing the 1976 Republican National Convention to Kansas City.
1974-76 – Served as director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
July 1974 – Named by Time magazine as one of “200 Rising Leaders.” The article noted his work setting up an inner-city training center and his leadership in the Crown Center redevelopment effort.
1978 – Served as a founding trustee (with Adele Hall) of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.
Early 1980s – As chairman of the Civic Council of Kansas City, brought civic interests together to establish the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance and the Kansas City Minority Supplier Development Council.
1981 – Elected a senior trustee of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, a role in which he would serve for 31 years.
June 1983 – Succeeded his father as chairman of Hallmark Cards, Inc., also continuing as chief executive officer until 1986.
1983 – Elected chairman of the Hall Family Foundation board.
1990-92 – Served as member (chairman 1992) of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
1997 – Chaired the building and architecture selection committees for expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and construction of the Bloch Building.
2000 – Chaired committee of civic leaders in recognition of Kansas City’s sesquicentennial, that led to “10 big ideas,” including the effort to advance life sciences in the region through research, commercialization and workforce development. Led to establishment of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute.
2007 – Joined community effort that led to the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s successful designation as a National Cancer Institute in 2022.
January 26, 2013 – Life partner and “best friend” Adele died after nearly 60 years of marriage.
2013 – Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art christened its campus the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park for his leadership in establishing the sculpture park.
2016 – Assumed the role of chairman emeritus of the board, a role he held until his death.
2016-17 – Led the effort to build the Children’s Mercy Research Institute, which opened in 2021.
2020 – Recognized the need to create the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.
October 13, 2024 – Passed away in Mission Hills, Kansas, at the age of 96.
