He came from a poor but religious family. Even before he was ten years old he was already selling perfume door to door to help augment the family income. Surprisingly, even though his family was religious their father abandoned them when Joyce was a teenager.
Today we hear of so many stories of kids who lead troubled lives because of broken homes. In the case of Joyce and his two older brothers, this meant working harder to lead better lives. His mother must have certainly been an influence. Being poor and abandoned by their father was not a barrier to success and they simply moved forward.
It takes a lot of self-belief to quit school at age eighteen and go to a big city with your dreams and two shoe boxes full of post cards; but this is what Joyce did, selling post cards to stores in and around Kansas City. A year later, his brother Rollie joined him and they opened a specialty shop selling post cards, stationeries, and gifts.
It would be nice to say “and the rest is history,” but in 1915, five years after Joyce took the leap of faith to Kansas City their shop burned down with everything they had. They were able to rise from the ashes. With a loan they bought an engraving firm which allowed them to make their own designs. Previously, they bought their cards wholesale from other producers.
Hallmark Cards, Inc. is now one of the largest privately held companies in America and is headed by Joyce’s grandson Donald J. Hall. Joyce retired from his company in 1966, but continued to be actively involved in its activities. He also revitalized a decaying urban portion of Kansas City helping to improve the economic activity in the area.
His is a story of a humble and difficult beginning with a happy ending.