Richard J. “Dick” Pope, formerly of WinCraft (asi/361600), passed away on Oct. 17, 2025. He was 89.

Richard J. “Dick” Pope, WinCraft (asi/361600)

Born on Aug. 2, 1936, to Helen (Ballman) and Willmar in St. Peter, MN, Pope worked on his family’s farm as a young boy and earned a degree in economics from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN – the first member of his family to graduate from college. He then joined the Army as a commissioned officer, first lieutenant, and served on bases near Richmond, VA, and Leesville, LA.

In 1959, Pope joined commemorative company Jostens – he would go on to sell Super Bowl rings to four of the first five coaches to win the game, including Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers and Hank Stram of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Twenty years later, Pope became a partner and CEO of WinCraft and helped to spearhead the acquisition of Asco Inc., which gave the company access to its first official major league licenses. In 2020, Pope sold WinCraft to sports merchandising firm Fanatics. By then, WinCraft had official agreements in each of the country’s professional sports leagues, as well as an enviable client roster that included Disney, John Deere, Coca-Cola, NASCAR and each branch of the military.

In his spare time, Pope enjoyed golfing, feeding backyard birds, collecting wine and raising Arabian horses. He was a member of the Arabian Horse Association, National Football League Properties, Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America, United Way of Winona, St. John’s University Alumni Association and the Winona State University President’s Advisory Council. He also spent time as Chairman of the Board for Merchants Bank in Winona, MN. Pope and wife Sandra established a scholarship fund at St. John’s University and were generous donors to the Mayo Clinic.

Pope is survived by Sandra, his wife of 67 years; daughters Kathleen (Rob McColl) Pope, Lisa (Ron Chladek) Pope and Jody (Eric) Johnson; sister Carol (Tony) Frantz; brother Bill (Mary) Pope; sister-in-law Susan Manuel; grandchildren Lucy (Adam) Pope Gerhardt, Jon Karl (Megan) Petters, Karina (Ryan) Jordan, Anna Petters and Max (Jacqueline) Johnson; great-grandchildren Avery Petters, Jack Petters, Walker Petters, Aesha Petters Rodriguez and Kalvin Jordan; cousin John Griep; and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Willmar and Helen; in-laws Harold and Ione Manuel and her second husband Robert Crutchfield; sister-in-law Gayla Clemons; brother-in-law Mike Manuel; and great-granddaughter Harper Petters.

A private interment took place at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Winona.