Massachusetts State Police on Monday identified the 45-year-old who died in a paddleboarding accident near Barack Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard estate as Tafari Campbell, a personal chef to the former president. Police were called to Obama’s home on Sunday after a man was seen going underwater and not resurfacing. His body was found on Monday morning in eight-foot-deep waters of Edgartown Great Pond, just about 100 feet away from the shore. “President and Mrs. Obama were not present at the residence at the time of the accident,” MSP said in a statement. Campbell was a sous chef in the Obama White House who was known for brewing honey ale beer using honey from Michelle Obama’s South Lawn garden. He went on to work for the couple privately after they left office. In a statement, the Obamas described him as “a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of our lives a little brighter.” They said they were grieving alongside Campbell’s wife and their twin boys. “Our hearts are broken that he’s gone,” they said.
