Diane Margaret Romer

Diane Margaret Romer (born 1947, died February 12, 2023) was the second and last daughter of Fred H. Romer (1918-1996) and Claire Mary Romer (nee Hand) (1918-1986). She idolized her older sister Joyce, who predeceased her in 2019. She attended twelve schools up and down the East Coast, from New Jersey to Florida, before graduating from Mater Dei High School in Middletown, NJ. Throughout her life she wore many hats, starting as a cashier at a pharmacy her senior year.

While life and circumstances prevented her from finishing her formal college education, Diane was never afraid to keep learning. She worked for a variety of employers across myriad industries, including the Mars Corporation and Keane & Associates. Her work with Keane brought her to Mexico City in 1979, where she began intensive language courses,determined to learn Spanish.

Her consulting group was assigned to an office where the best English speaker, a man tasked with obtaining information for employment forms, started their relationship with the inquiry, “How much do you make?” They always joked she kept him around because he knew where the good coffee and cigarettes were, but her connection with Salvador Puente de la Torre blossomed into a 40-year relationship that spanned 2 countries, 4 states, and children both born and chosen.

In 1989, after returning from Mexico City with two daughters in tow, Diane and Salvador took on the Herculean task of running their own copy and print franchise, Alphagraphics. The girls grew up in the Bloomfield Ave. storefront, loading copy paper, collecting staples from the carpet, and answering the phone as trained: “Alphagraphics, this is Alison speaking, how can I help you?”

Diane was more than a boss to many of her employees. She never hesitated to offer support and mentorship beyond the professional. The business grew, and when an opportunity came up for Salvador to go back to banking, Diane took on the day-to-day management on her own. She set an example for her employees, never asking anyone to do what she was not willing to do herself.

1998 brought an opportunity for the family to relocate to Texas, and Diane, undaunted as ever, braved the cross-country move to another “foreign” land. Without the shop, Diane tried on many hats: hours for another Alphagraphics, volunteering at a local nonprofit aimed at helping folks in need, and selling jewelry. She even learned mahjong as a way to meet other transplants to the area. Frustrated with local policies, she founded a Katy Area Democrats group, and even though the first meeting had the air of a group therapy confessional (“Hi, my name is Diane, and I’m a Democrat.”), she set an example for her children, that if you were unsatisfied with something, the onus was on you to make the change. She worked as an election monitor and volunteered for campaigns, determined always to do her part.

After the kids were out of the house, Diane took her skills to a totally new arena, the car dealership, where she earned the distinction of Salesperson of the Month from Saturn of Houston. Her collaborative problem-solving approach to sales earned her repeat customers and referrals during her brief stint in car sales.

Salvador and Diane bought their “retirement” home in Port Saint Lucie in 2009, but Diane decided to couple her sales experience with her forty plus years of home-buying experience (and her lifetime of moving experience) to take on the challenge of becoming a licensed real estate agent and eventually a realtor, then broker. Salvador excelled at the finances, and Diane excelled at the people, a blend of skills that earned them repeat customers and referrals. She continued to be the change she wanted to see, joining and eventually leading the Women’s Council of Realtors of Martin County and Port St. Lucie, in addition to taking on state-wide roles in the Association of Realtors’s Grievance Committee. Her work ethic was unrivaled, and she instilled the value and worth of hard work in her children.

Diane would have described herself as a shy child, but she blossomed into a force of nature who created communities wherever she went. She will be remembered for sayings like “Nobody ever promised you a rose garden” and “Come in!” the phrase countless people heard when invited into her home and kitchen to share a meal, a glass of wine, a story, and a laugh. She bore two daughters but raised so many other children. A common thread in the remembrances we have shared is how welcoming and loving she always was.

She sang off-key, but never stopped joining Salvador in duets. Their children will always remember them dancing. She could never sit through a scary movie and would instead demand a play-by-play explanation while she put dishes away in the kitchen, leaving most of the cabinets open in the process. She had a loud fearless laugh and when something particularly tickled her, she’d laugh until she cried. She played her “‘dle games” daily, sharing her results with her daughters as a way to connect and remind them that she loved them.

Her family has requested that those who wish to honor Diane to do something boldly kind for others; pay for a stranger's groceries, visit a lonely neighbor, volunteer someplace new, greet the new folks in the neighborhood, mentor someone in need. In short, pay it forward. During this difficult time of mourning, it gives her family great comfort to think of the ripple of kindness this difficult loss might send through the world.

Diane is survived by her loving husband Salvador, her daughters, Ali (Rex), Megan (Patrick), and Oriana (Matt), and her step-children Salvador (Yara), Susana (Frank), and Elsa. She is also survived by her niece Lori, her grandchildren who were the light of her life, and her rescue dog Zeus. (“I promise, he’s just a foster!” said Diane in 2016.) They invite her friends and family to join them at a celebration of Diane’s vibrant life on March 18, 2023 at Aycock at Tradition (12571 Tradition Pkwy, Port St. Lucie, FL 34987). Visitation will start at 1 PM with tributes to begin at 2 PM. Visitation will extend until 5 PM.

Please RSVP by March 10, 2023 at the following link: https://forms.gle/ryWzyNKch4P3Jifk6