Diane (Germano) Rogers, formerly of Revere, died peacefully Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at Penacook Place in Haverhill after a long illness. She was 82.
She was born April 22, 1944, the daughter of Samuel Germano and Florence (Veglia) Wallace and the stepdaughter of Robert Wallace, all of whom died before her. She and her sister, Florence, grew up dancing. They performed often and appeared on Community Auditions, the local television talent show. The dancing never stopped. Her family says she was always the first on the floor, whether the song called for the jitterbug, the hully gully, the hustle or whatever line dance was newest.
She and the late Frederick Amello had three children before their marriage ended, and she raised them on her own, working several jobs at once so their needs came first and so that she could still be there for them. She earned her real estate broker’s license and opened a rental office that she ran for many years. When the children were older she opened her own exercise studio in Everett, Body Magic, where she taught aerobics.
The job she valued most, her family says, was being a mother and then a grandmother. She did not miss a birthday, an event or a milestone, and some of her happiest hours were spent making crafts and playing video games with her grandchildren.
She leaves her daughter, Justine Palermo and her husband Stephen of Wilmington; her sons, Joe Amello and his wife Anne Marie of Rowley, and Jason Amello and his wife Lucy of Newton; five grandchildren, Samantha, Matthew, Nicholas, Timothy and Brandon, to whom she was Nana; three great-grandchildren, Giuliana, Mila and Margot; her sister, Florence McHugh; and cousins, nieces and nephews.
At the family’s request, a private gathering will be held. In place of flowers the family suggests donations in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011, or at alz.org. Arrangements are by the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home, 549 Lincoln Avenue, Saugus.
Compiled from information published by Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home549 Lincoln Avenue, Saugus. Photograph courtesy of the family via Bisbee-Porcella. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
