GREENDALE — Tiffany Graham, the mayor of this small St. Louis County municipality, died this week, Greendale’s city administrator confirmed on Friday.
Graham, 41, died on Tuesday. She was the city’s youngest mayor, City Administrator Jackie Payton said, noting that she did not know the cause of death.
In April 2019, Graham was elected mayor as a write-in candidate after previously serving as a Greendale alderperson.
“It was not her desire to be the mayor, but she accepted the responsibility, taking the bull by the horns,” Payton said. “What was best for the residents was always first and foremost in her mind.”
As mayor, Graham helped secure partnerships with Beyond Housing, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Express Scripts, Payton said.
It was Graham, she added, who always paid close attention to the annual budget, making the most fiscally responsible decisions for the city that’s nestled next to Pagedale, Normandy and Bel-Nor.
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“She was the brains of the operations, and I was the (one) shaking hands and kissing babies,” Payton said.
The city’s Board of Alderpersons president, Monica Jefferson, will assume Graham’s mayoral duties for now, Payton said.
Graham had worked as a meeting planner for Ascension Health, Payton said. According to Graham’s city biography, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications, cum laude, from Alabama A&M University, then earned a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She also advocated for Young Voices with Action, a Wellston-based nonprofit focusing on improving lives of the youth.
Funeral services have not been announced; a community celebration was being planned for Graham, Payton said.