Jim Wearne, an American musician, died on January 15, 2026, at the age of 75.
He was a Cornish-American musician who lived most of his life in the Chicago area of northern Illinois. Born in St.
Louis, Missouri, and raised in the Chicago area, he studied at Southern Illinois University and received a degree in theatre in 1972. After graduating, he worked as a stagehand for musical theater productions including My Fair Lady and plays including California Suite. Wearne’s first recorded album was Songs of Cornwall: Captured Alive! in 1997, recorded live at the Potomac Celtic Festival in Leesburg, Virginia. He married in 1975 and had two daughters, Elisabeth Fisher and Catherine Wearne-Soto.
Jim Wearne (/ˈwɛrn/; October 24, 1950 – January 15, 2026) was a Cornish-American musician who lived most of his life in the Chicago area of northern Illinois. Wearne was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in the Chicago area. He studied at Southern Illinois University, receiving a degree in theatre in 1972. After graduating, he worked as a stagehand for musical theater productions including My Fair Lady and plays including California Suite. Wearne married in 1975 and had two daughters, Elisabeth Fisher and Catherine Wearne-Soto.