Rogene Alma Denno

Rogene Alma Denno
June 12, 1928December 2, 2020
Rogene A. Denno, (Gene) an 8-year resident of Redlands, passed away peacefully after a long illness attended to by her son and daughter and the wonderful caregivers at European Home Care. She is now reunited with her husband of 47 years Louis Denno, her parents, Roger and Alma Sherman, her brother, Howard Sherman, her son in law, Carlos Cervantes and many dear friends and relatives in Orange County. Rogene is survived by her daughter, Cynthia Denno Cervantes of Redlands, her son, Michael Roger Denno (Salmay) of Irvine, her granddaughter, Heather Oldfield (Ryan), her two great granddaughters, Darla and Dinah Oldfield of Utah and her grandson, Paul Denno of Anaheim.
Rogene, although born in Fullerton, CA was raised in neighboring Anaheim where her father, Roger Sherman was one of the first officers hired by the newly created Anaheim Police Department. Although the times were tough with the Great Depression and then WWII, Rogene was raised in a loving and close family that shared a love of learning, camping and raising and showing champion wire haired fox terriers. Rogene was a lifetime member of the National Honor Society and graduated second in her Class of 1946 at Anaheim Union High School. She was well liked and admired by her classmates with whom she stayed in close contact through the years. She went on to earn an Associate of Arts Degree in Accounting with highest honors at Fullerton College where, as noted in her college annuals, she was known for her beauty and brain.
Gene worked for an accounting firm in Fullerton for five years until she met and married Lou Denno, a popular local business owner in Fullerton. In addition to raising her two children, she did payroll and kept the books for the business and managed a record store they owned for over a year with her young children happily playing in the backroom of the store. Through the years, she sewed most of hers and Cindys clothes, volunteered as classroom Mom for Mikes elementary school, helped with the annual carnivals, carpooled her kids to an assortment of activities and was always neighborhood captain of various fundraisers. She enjoyed entertaining friends and family and always made room for the inevitable extra person for dinner.
After Lou retired and the kids were married, they enjoyed numerous trips and cruises with friends, sharing their love for theatre and music and enjoying their annual passes at Disneyland. Most of all they enjoyed spending time with their two grandchildren, Heather and Paul Denno.
When Lou was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease, Gene cared for him until his death in 2000. Gene continued to live in the same house in Fullerton where she enjoyed hosting friends and family, volunteering at her church, going to Disneyland and caring for her beloved dog. In 2012, she made the difficult decision to move to Redlands to be near her daughter and receive the additional care she required. Her family is grateful for the love and care she received from her caregivers and the many visits and prayers from the good people of Trinity Episcopal Church in Redlands. Although we are sad, we know she is at peace and we will always remember the beautiful, loving and giving person she was.
Services
A visitation for family and friends will be held December 15th from 2-4 pm at Emmerson Bartlett Mortuary in Redlands.
A graveside service will be at 1pm on December 17th at Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton.
The family suggests donations to Trinity Episcopal Church or The Alzheimers Association.

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