Catherine Wearin, 72

Catherine Norah Wearin, 72, died at her home in Council Bluffs on Aug. 25, 2026, after a five-month struggle with cancer.
She was born on April 28, 1954, in Council Bluffs, to Edward Anderson and Helen (Cochran) Wearin of Red Oak. Their new daughter was welcomed to their farm home by siblings Elizabeth (Twink), Edward Anderson, Jr. (Andy), and Sarah.
Catherine graduated from Red Oak Community Schools, then attended Drake University in Des Moines. She transferred to Sophie Newcomb College, a part of Tulane University in New Orleans, La., and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. She later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Kansas City Art Institute (MO), studying painting, woods, and furniture design and construction. She made beautiful furniture and decorative wooden objects.
After graduation, Catherine moved to Jackson, Wyo., where she worked in an art gallery and continued to make furniture and lathe-turned bowls and candlesticks. She also learned to frame art sold at the gallery, which fit nicely with her love of art and wood working. After a few years, she moved to Cheyenne, Wyo., and opened a custom framing shop. At this time, she earned picture-framing certification from the Professional Picture Framers Association.
Catherine subsequently moved to Colorado, where her picture framing expertise led her to work as a sales person for a framing supply company, selling materials to frame shops in Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. After several years, she began working in remodeling, repair, and construction of homes in the Denver area.
Catherine moved to Nebraska in 2004 and worked for many years for the Union Pacific Railroad as a switch person in the Bailey Yard in North Platte. She then moved back to Wyoming and continued to work for the Union Pacific as a conductor on freight trains out of Cheyenne. After retiring, she moved to Hyannis, Neb. Following an accident in her home in 2023, she moved to Council Bluffs to be near her family.
Catherine is survived by her sisters, Twink Wearin and Sarah Smith, and her sister-in-law, Georgeann Wearin; eight nieces and nephews, 10 great-nieces and nephews, and many friends.  Catherine was preceded in death by her parents; her brother Andy; her niece Olive Salmon; and her Wearin and Cochran grandparents, aunts, uncles, and several cousins.  
An informal memorial open house will be held for Catherine on Sunday, Oct. 18 at The McAlpin Place, 109 East Washington Avenue, Red Oak, IA, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. A brief remembrance ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends may come and go at any time.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Sandhills Fire and Rescue, P.O. Box 330, Hyannis, NE 69350.
Catherine’s ashes will be interred in the Wearin family plot at the Malvern (IA) Cemetery next to her parents in a private family service.
Lerette Funeral Chapel, Red Oak, is handling arrangements for Catherine’s service and burial.