J.C. Hall always wanted to understand his workers and encourage them to do their best.

As a result, he inspired unparalleled employee loyalty at Hallmark Cards, said Anna Carol “Acey” Lampe, executive professor of management and director of the undergraduate business program at Rockhurst University.

“Mr. Hall treated everybody, from the stock boy to his executive VP, like they were his family,” said Lampe, who worked 25 years at Hallmark. “So why would you want to let your father down?”

Hall was more than paternalistic, Lampe said. He wanted his people to be genuinely happy, which made Hallmark employees strive to please the boss.

“They would work harder and longer, just because they admired him so much,” she said. “And Mr. Hall was generous to a fault with his employees. He brought them food. He took them on picnics. He made sure if they wanted a baseball team, they had a baseball team. He would bring in vegetables from his garden and give them to people. He would bring in milk from his farm.

“Another thing he would do was carry around silver dollars in his pocket. And he would give them to artists who had come up with great ideas or whose work he would think was just breathtakingly beautiful. So he rewarded people all the time.”