Bio
Edward Patrick “Ed” Trumble built one of the most influential greeting card companies in the American West and became a respected champion of Western art. Born November 1, 1924, in Havelock, Nebraska, Trumble grew up with a love of the open landscapes and ranching heritage of his home state—imagery that would later shape the identity of his company, Leanin’ Tree.
After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Trumble was offered a position with Hallmark in Kansas City. The opportunity might have set his life on a familiar corporate path, but a trip west changed everything. After seeing Denver, he declined the Hallmark job—even before his first day—and took a lower-paying job at a local magazine. He later said he never regretted that decision. Colorado quickly became his home.
Trumble had his first experience in the greeting card business while working with artist Robert Lorenz. Together in 1949, they launched Lazy RL Ranch, their early venture into Western-themed Christmas cards. Their first four designs sold out immediately. After Lorenz’s death in 1965, Trumble renamed the company Leanin’ Tree. He chose a spruce as the company’s symbol—leaning with the Nebraska winds—and began building a brand recognized for humor, heart, and Western authenticity.
From those modest beginnings, Leanin’ Tree grew into a major American greeting card producer. The company worked with hundreds of independent artists and produced more than 6,000 cards and gift items each year. When Leanin’ Tree moved to Gunbarrel in 1974, Trumble began manufacturing entirely on-site, and the business became a Colorado institution. By his own proud calculation, the company never relied on outside capital or investment. “We really started from scratch,” he once said. “It was three years before we could afford a telephone. Today, we have 30,000 distributors.”
Trumble’s work in art selection for greeting cards connected him to the finest Western art galleries in the country, and he became both a patron and collector. When he relocated the company, he created the Leanin’ Tree Museum of Western Art. Later expanded with a sculpture garden, the museum showcased nearly all of Trumble’s personal collection—more than 300 paintings and roughly 200 bronze sculptures. For 40 years, the museum served as one of Colorado’s most significant Western art destinations.
In 2016, the Greeting Card Association awarded Trumble its Lifetime Achievement Award—its first in many years—and did so unanimously. Industry leaders praised his support of artists, Western cultural heritage, and his innovative contributions to greeting card publishing.
Trumble was also a writer and historian of his own era. His autobiography, A View From the Bottom, chronicled his service as a private in the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. He was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge and evacuated to England to recover. His most celebrated publication, the 500-page The Story of Leanin’ Tree: Art and Enterprise in the American West, was released in 2008 and stands as a record of both his company and his era.
In 1983, Trumble met Lynn Dickens Courtley, a fourth-generation Coloradan and accomplished horsewoman who shared his interest in art and ranching culture. They married and together helped expand the museum’s reach, particularly through the sculpture garden. Trumble raised her three children as his own and later became grandfather and great-grandfather to a growing family.
To the end of his life, Trumble remained proudest of two things: that his company stayed independent, and that Leanin’ Tree gave a platform to artists whose work celebrated the American West. “A greeting card is nothing but pictures and words,” he once said. “And I think we do a pretty good job of putting them together.”
