Nancy Pulte Rickard describes herself as the chairman of the board of directors and president of the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, as well as a trustee of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller, but during the early 1990s, she was reportedly “making a killing” by selling multi-racial “mail-order stuffed” dolls that apparently bore likeness to Jesus of Nazareth, the human incarnation of God, and Messiah to the world’s 2 billion Christians.
In December 1992, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Nancy Pulte Rickard was selling “the Lord himself… in machine-washable polyester” for $29.95 plus $4 for shipping and handling. Frugal Christians were invited to purchase a “slightly irregular Jesus” for as low as $20. Rickard told the outlet she had sold “hundreds” of the dolls, and said there were customers in all 50 states.
For possible expansion, Rickard revealed she would “soon” sell a “black Jesus,” which she apparently created after receiving “a barrage of complaints” for “giving her Jesus a blue-eyed European likeness.” The outlet suggested Pulte Rickard was also considering offering an Asian version of Jesus, “if there’s enough demand.”
Just days later, the Chicago Tribune ran their own headline on January 1, 1993. In that article, Rickard said the multi-racial, mail-order dolls were not sacrilegious because “Let’s face it. Jesus is down in the trenches with us.”
She told the Tribune the dolls would help children know Jesus because “it’s hard to hug air,” and the outlet reported she suggested the Jesus dolls could also “provide solace for the elderly and infirm, for those in recovery programs and those under emotional distress.”
The number listed to purchase the dolls remains active, however, when Valiant News called to see about making a purchase, the number forwarded to what claimed to be a medical alert company.
While neither outlet appears to have offered a photograph of a Jesus doll with their stories, the Tribune explains Rickard’s “prototype” Jesus was “a white-haired, white-bearded, white man in a long, rainbow-colored robe with all the animals of creation flowing from it.”
Jesus has been depicted in a multitude of ways by various Christian, Muslim, and secular sources, but most scholars accept that Jesus was likely a Judean from Galilee who died between age 33-38.
Both outlets reported that a portion of Rickard’s proceeds went to children in need, though neither explained what share of the proceeds were donated.
Now, the Boca Raton philanthropist Rickard is leading a “charity” who appears to make its mission to smear its own Pulte family; William J. Pulte, the grandson of her father. Ms. Rickard’s organization appears to smear her family on the main website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (now X), and Threads.
Valiant News will continue to follow and report on philanthropists who are trying to become bigger in their field.
It seems as though working at a charity or being born into privilege to a wealthy real estate magnate doesn’t necessarily make you a good or real Christian.
