Jo Werne, 69, wrote about home decor for much of her 38-year Miami Herald career
Hoodoo
JO WERNE, 69
Jo Werne | Longtime Herald home decor writer
http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2010/07/15/10/JoAnne_Werne.embedded.prod_affiliate.56.jpg
JoAnne Werne wrote about home decor for much of her 38-year Miami Herald
career.
BY ELINOR J. BRECHER AND MARGARIA FICHTNER
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/15/1731067/longtime-herald-home-decor-writer.html
Jo Werne, who wrote about home decor for much of her 38-year Miami
Herald career, died earlier this week at the book-filled Coral Gables
home she shared with her cat, Spooky.
She apparently suffered a heart attack less than two weeks before her
upcoming 70th birthday, on July 26.
Although she covered general news and features, she was best known as
the newspaper's home-furnishings writer. After retiring in 2001, she
continued to freelance until last year.
A regular at furniture-industry shows, Werne kept Herald readers ahead
of the style curve. Decorators and merchants coveted a Jo Werne mention.
``You may never need an iron cannon from a 1720 Spanish war ship, but
don't you sleep better knowing such a thing can be found in South
Florida?'' she wrote in a 1997 story.
Whether writing about local decorators or European designers,
Christmas-tree ornaments or massaging recliners, Werne took every topic
seriously. She was both a tastemaker and a consumer advocate, educating
readers about value, quality and design.
In 1989 story headlined, ``Where your furniture dollar goes,'' she
wrote: ``Consumers complain that furniture costs too much. But the price
tag on new furniture contains more than the cost of the frame, wood,
fabric, trimmings and manufacturing.
``The tag conceals many hidden costs. . . The dealer may overprice the
sofa in order to offer a `discount' later at a `stupendous' sale. It's
all legal. It's called retailing.''
Longtime friend Lyn Rafe-Lawyer said that Werne seemed fine on Saturday.
But after neighbors noticed the Sunday and Monday papers on her lawn
while her car sat in the driveway, they became concerned and called
Rafe-Lawyer.
Coral Gables police found Werne on a couch in front of a television that
was on on Wednesday. The Miami-Dade County medical examiner's office
said she died of natural causes, perhaps Sunday night.
FARM UPBRINGING
Josephine Anne Werne grew up on a 40-acre Suffield, Ohio, farm, the
second of Joseph and Jeannette Werne's six children. In addition to her
parents, her older brother, John, preceded her in death.
``We had fruit trees and a huge garden, and [Jo] helped my mom with
canning,'' said Janet Holden, one of her three sisters. ``She did a lot
of baking.''
After graduating from Kent State University in 1962, Werne spent a year
traveling in South America on a Knight Newspapers scholarship. Heading
home, she stopped at The Herald and applied for a job -- which she got
three months later.
According to longtime friend Sandra Wesley, retired from the Boca Raton
News, Werne was The Herald's ``bureau chief for Boca, Delray and Boynton
Beach'' by December 1963. Unfailingly cheerful, Werne was a one-woman
welcoming committee.
``Jo was covering public education when I arrived . . . in 1967,''
retired reporter Arnold Markowitz said. ``If you were new on the staff
and wondered what the best schools were or where to house-hunt, Jo's
advice often was better than anyone else's.''
Among her awards: the 1972 Penney-Missouri Award for fashion writing --
about polyester.
Former colleagues remembered Werne as a warm, caring friend who would
grocery shop for a new mother or bring goodies to the sick.
``Jo did not need much of an excuse to get the fine china out,'' said
former Herald graphic artist Cindy Seip, married to photographer Al
Diaz.``She even hosted a beautiful shower for us when we adopted our
children.''
`RADIANT JOY'
``In a field largely populated by the irascible and rude, Jo beamed with
a sort of radiant joy, visibly delighting in her work and the people
around her,'' retired reporter Marty Merzer recalled.
Added Nuri Vallbona, former Herald photographer: ``Whenever I saw Jo's
name at the bottom of the photo assignment, I knew that I was going to
have a great time. . . .She'd make shooting a box of rocks fun.''
Former landscaping writer Georgia Tasker recalled how much Werne loved
talking about her cats. She ``had the most wonderful imagination, and
would make up wonderful conversations with'' them.
Teresa Mears, former Home & Design section editor, said that Werne never
lost her enthusiasm.
``She'd start right away'' on a new assignment. ``She'd be making calls
before I even put the story on the budget.''
In addition to sister Janet, of College Station, Texas, Werne is
survived by sisters Jeannine Cormaci and Julie Tubrick of Omaha, Neb.,
and brother Joseph, of Cape Girardeau, Mo. Arrangements are pending with
the Neptune Society.
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