Tafari Campbell, the 45-year-old personal chef for the Obamas who rose to public notice for brewing honey-flavored beers in the White House, apparently drowned while paddleboarding off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
While the Obamas were away, Campbell was vacationing at their Massachusetts property. He was reported missing Sunday afternoon after he did not return home from paddleboarding. His body washed up on shore Monday morning, police said.
“Tafari was a beloved part of our family. When we first met him, he was a talented sous chef at the White House — creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together,” the Obamas said in a statement. “In the years that followed, we got to know him as a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of our lives a little brighter.”