Born in David City, Nebraska the fifth son of a minister, Hall worked odd jobs, mostly involving sales, from age 8 on to supplement the meager income of his father. Hall's response to his father's mantra, "the Lord will provide," was, "It's a good idea to give the Lord a little help." In 1905 Hall and his brothers invested $150 to buy picture postcards to sell to the salesmen who sold books to the shop where Hall worked.
In 1910, Hall, who had dropped out of high school, moved to Kansas City, Missouri with little more than two shoeboxes of postcards. By 1913, he and his brothers were operating a store selling not only postcards but also greeting cards. The store burned in 1915, and a year later, Hall bought an engraving business and began printing his own cards, which he marketed under the Hallmark brand name. It turned into a bigger business than he had before.
Hallmark's business continued to grow, even during the Great Depression, which the company survived without laying off a single worker.
Hall, who objected to the name Joyce and typically went by "J.C.," retired in 1966 and spent his retirement in efforts to revitale the Kansas City downtown area. One of the results was Crown Center, a combination business/shopping district surrounding the Hallmark corporate headquarters. Hall died in 1982 in Kansas City.