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 worked as a city reporter and a features writer, she was best known as a Herald home furnishings writer before retiring in 2001.

She continued to freelance, generally for The Herald's Home & Design section, until last year.

A regular at industry shows, Werne brought back news of upcoming furniture trends, keeping Herald readers ahead of the style curve.

She also educated them about value, quality, design and the economics of decorating.

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.''

Janet Holden, one of Werne's three sisters, said neighbors called police after noticing newspapers accumulating in Werne's yard while her car hadn't moved.

Police found Werne in front of the television, which was on, and believe she died Sunday night, Holden said.

Josephine Anne Werne grew up on a 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.

When he wasn't milking cows or harvesting corn, Joseph worked at a tire plant. Jeannette played church organ for 52 years.

``We had fruit trees and a huge garden, and Jo helped my mom with canning,'' Holden said. ``She did a lot of baking. She always baked Christmas cookies that she had to hide from our two brothers.''

After graduating from Kent State University in 1962, Werne spent a year traveling in South America on a Knight Newspapers scholarship, Holden said.

On the way home, she stopped at The Herald and applied for a job. Three months later, she got one, and never left South Florida.

She never married.

Among her awards: the 1972 Penney-Missouri Award for fashion writing, the 1976 Dorothy Dawe Award from the Chicago American Mart, the 1978 Dallas Market Center's Award for distinguished coverage of the home furnishings industry, and the 1988 excellence in home furnishings journalism award from the Southern Furniture Market Center.

Former colleagues remembered Werne as a warm, caring friend and an efficient professional.

``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. ``Over nearly three decades of working in the same newsroom, I cannot recall a single time that I saw her without a smile on her face.''

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 throw open the door with a big smile and tell you all about what she was covering with so much enthusiasm that you'd get excited about the assignment.

``She'd make shooting a box of rocks fun.''

Former landscaping/gardening writer Georgia Tasker said that Werne loved to discuss her pets.

``She would come in with stories all the time about her cats, and she had the most wonderful imagination, and would make up wonderful conversations with her cats.''

Teresa Mears, former Herald Home & Design editor, now a bargain-hunting columnist, said that ``even after 30 years, she was always interested to get a new assignment. She'd start right away. 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.