Donald J. Hall 1928 – 2024

Kansas City civic leader and philanthropist Donald J. Hall, 96, of Mission Hills, Kansas, passed away October 13, 2024, at home surrounded by his loving family.

Don was born July 9, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri. The son of Hallmark Cards, Inc. founder J.C. Hall and Elizabeth Hall, he grew up in and around the family business, joining the company at age 17 as an assistant salesman and working a sales territory while majoring in economics at Dartmouth College. After graduation he took a break in the early 1950s to join the U.S. Army, serving much of his military career as an officer at an Army post in Gifu, Japan. Upon completion of his military service, Don married the love of his life—Adele Coryell—in 1953. Together, they had three children.

He returned to Hallmark in 1953 and quickly assumed leadership positions, becoming administrative vice president in 1958 and president and chief executive officer in 1966. In 1983, he moved from the position of president to chairman, and in 2016, he became chairman emeritus, a role he held until his death.

He also chaired the Hall Family Foundation, the private philanthropic organization formed from the estates of J.C. and Elizabeth Hall to enhance the quality of human life in the Kansas City area.

As CEO, he led Hallmark through its greatest period of growth, establishing management systems to support the entrepreneurial business, which was still small at the time. He led the introduction of new product lines and development of Hallmark’s network of independent retailers, oversaw development of Crown Center and the acquisition of Crayola, and directed an initiative articulating Hallmark’s “beliefs and values” to guide decision-making as the company grew. He took great pride in the Hallmark Hall of Fame, maintaining his father’s commitment to high-quality family and life-affirming entertainment.

Don loved his hometown. He believed in its people, its potential and its future, a commitment he shared with his late wife, Adele. Backing that belief with unyielding community support, Don’s influence was felt – often in behind-the-scenes roles where he was most comfortable – in virtually every major civic project from the 1960s through the early 2000s.

He was a founding member of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, and with other civic leaders was a guiding force behind the early 1970s “Prime Time” news bureau effort that gave Kansas City a burst of national attention and was credited with attracting the 1976 Republican National Convention to Kansas City. He also helped establish the Kansas City Area Development Council to attract new businesses to the region.

As chairman of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, he brought civic interests together to establish the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance and the Kansas City Minority Supplier Development Council (later the Mid-America Minority Business Development Council). He was a consistent champion of the United Way of Greater Kansas City.

In later years, he supported the region’s life sciences initiatives, worked to achieve the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s successful designation as a National Cancer Institute and led efforts to establish the Children’s Research Institute at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he recognized the importance of creating the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, which provided critical funding for nonprofits dealing with the human tragedy caused by the pandemic.

He was a decades-long supporter of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, serving on the Board of Trustees for 31 years. He and Adele were involved in private fundraising efforts for the Museum’s expansion, which opened in 2007 to national acclaim. He recognized the importance of photography as an art form, and in the 1960s he began building the Hallmark Photographic Collection. It became a world-class collection that was eventually given to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in 2005 and supported since then by substantial gifts from the Hall Family Foundation. His years of board service and support of the modern sculpture collection were recognized in 2013 when the Museum’s campus was named The Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park.

Nationally, he was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to serve as chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. He also served on the board of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. He received the Parsons School of Design Award in 1997, the Golden Plate award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1994 and a National Medal of Arts from President Ronald Regan in 1985. In 1982, he received the Governor’s Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for Hallmark’s contributions to the medium of television though the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from alma mater Dartmouth College in 2000. In 2005 he and Adele were jointly honored with the Alexis de Tocqueville Award from the national United Way of America.

Don served on the boards of the Kansas City Symphony, the Missouri Repertory Theater (later the Kansas City Repertory Theatre), the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Full Employment Council. He was a past chairman of the board of Midwest Research Institute (now MRIGlobal) and provided financial support for the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.

He received the Kansas Citian of the Year Award in 1972 from the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City and the Philanthropist of the Year award in 1985 from the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy. In 1993 he was honored with a Midwest Research Institute Trustee Citation.

His keen interest in architecture, so evident in Kansas City’s Crown Center development, was acknowledged with an award of excellence from the Kansas City Architectural Foundation in 1985 and an honorary membership in the American Institute of Architects.

He also was a decades-long member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

As significant as his professional and civic accomplishments were, with Don family always came first. He was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 60 years, Adele, who was his daily inspiration and a true partner in community service, and by his sisters Elizabeth Hall Reid and Barbara Hall Marshall. He is survived by a large and loving family: sons Don and Dave Hall (Laura), and daughter Margi Hall Pence (Keith), grandchildren Helen Hall, Will Hall, Rebecca Hall Coulson (Harper), Allison Hall, Katie Hall, Julia Hall, Sarah Pence, Andy Pence (Megan), and Michael Pence (Jillian). He cherished the mayhem lovingly provided by his eight great-grandchildren: Adele, Jack, Izzy, Charlotte, Sophie, James, Remi and Coco. Their Popo will be greatly missed.

It was Don’s greatest pleasure that his sons assumed leadership roles in Hallmark, his daughter took the helm of key community endeavors, and that his whole family embraced the mission of Hallmark and his wish for Kansas City to be the best it can be while sharing his values of family, enriching lives, community, and personal responsibility.

In lieu of flowers and in tribute to Don Hall’s lifelong commitment to Kansas City, the family suggests contributions to Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Pembroke Hill School, or the United Way of Greater Kansas City.

Services for Donald J. Hall will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, October 18, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.