Rochelle Denise Tilghman was born April 23, 1959, in St. Louis, Missouri, to the late John Oliver Tilghman and Cassandra Howard. She was the fourth of six children, two of whom proceeded her in death – Porsha and Marsha.
Rochelle accepted Christ into her life at a young age and made sure she never missed mass at Sts. Joachim and Ann Catholic Church in St. Peters, Missouri, and St. Nicholas Catholic Church in St. Louis.
Educated in the Catholic school system, she attended St. Barbara Catholic School during her grade school years, then St. Mark for high school, both of which were located in Wellston. After St. Mark closed, she graduated from LaBoure High School in 1977. It was that same year she married Harold Alexander, and from that union, her first daughter – Rashonda (Roe) was born in 1979. During this time, she worked in the Wellston School District’s business office.
Education was extremely important to Rochelle, and she remained committed to earning multiple degrees, even after starting a family. She often encouraged those around her to take advantage of educational opportunities. After high school, she attended the University of Missouri – St. Louis and earned a Bachelor’s degree. She received her certified public accountant designation shortly after, then went on to earn a Master’s in Taxation from Fontbonne University.
In 1991, she gave birth to her second daughter, Maikieta. With her girls always by her side, Rochelle set out to conquer the world, and she did it with so much style and grace. She loved her daughters more than anything, and she made caring and providing for them her main priority. Their traditions included traveling and simply bonding like only a mother and her daughters could. She instilled in them the ability to be resilient and God-fearing, just as she was. She was always so proud of them and everything they accomplished, serving as their biggest advocate.
On August 27, 2015, her beloved grandson, Cairo, was born, and he brought so much joy to her life.
She was a natural workaholic, and in her fierce and feisty way, she could work a room like no other. Rochelle had so many professional gifts – accounting, real estate and networking, to name a few. As her career blossomed, she held positions at The Racket Club on South Kingshighway and at Job Corps as the manager of Finance. Then she landed at Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU), where she was initially hired as comptroller and later promoted to vice president of Business and Financial Affairs.
In 2002, Rochelle started her very successful real estate company, Tilghman Properties, LLC. Building quite an impressive real estate portfolio, she touched the lives of so many of her tenants, maintenance and construction crews. She’d purchase gifts for the children of her tenants and distribute them every year for Christmas.
She left HSSU for a brief time to attend law school and later returned as the assistant vice president of Business and Financial Affairs, a position she held until she moved on to explore other opportunities. Ms. T., as she was affectionately called by her Harris-Stowe family, played a major role in the name change of Harris-Stowe State College to Harris-Stowe State University and in all of the university’s campus expansion efforts.
Rochelle was an avid fitness guru, on and off campus, and organized exercise classes for faculty, staff and students. She often spoke about becoming a female body builder. One of her favorite workout activities was spinning classes.
She had a knack for mentoring and connecting with people, and she touched so many lives in so many ways. Once she loved you, it never wavered, and she loved you forever. That love was felt in every interaction she had with you. A natural problem solver and fixer, she was always there. Within her various circles of work, church, gym and long-time childhood relationships, she was the best girlfriend you could ask for, and she will always be remembered for being so encouraging, generous, down-to-earth – and simply down for whatever!
The beautiful soul that we know as Rochelle departed this earthly life on Friday, August 26, 2016. She leaves to cherish her sweet, precious memories, her loving mother Cassandra Howard; daughters Rashonda Roundtree (Chad) and Maikieta Brantley; grandson Cairo; sister Sandra Marie Tilghman; brothers Stanley Tilghman and Craig Tilghman; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, and friends.
Services for Rochelle will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, September 3 at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, 701 N. 18th Street in St. Louis.
