Medical Examiner Rules on Obama Chef's Death

Tafari Campbell was paddleboarding on Martha's Vineyard
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 24, 2023 6:43 PM CDT
Updated Aug 23, 2023 4:15 PM CDT
Obama Chef Dies in Water Near Family's Summer Home
White House Chef Tafari Campbell smiles, Nov. 6, 2008, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
UPDATE Aug 23, 2023 4:15 PM CDT

The untimely death of the Obama family's personal chef was an accidental one, per a ruling announced Tuesday from the chief medical examiner of Massachusetts. Tafari Campbell, 45, drowned in late July in a Martha's Vineyard lake while paddleboarding near the Obama's summer home, and the AP reports his death was found to be an accidental drowning following "submersion in a body of water." A paddleboarder in the same location reported seeing him go under, and a 911 call described a "male paddleboarder who had gone into the water, appeared to briefly struggle to stay on the surface, and then submerged and did not resurface." The Obamas weren't home at the time, reports the New York Times. Campbell leaves behind a wife and twin sons.

Jul 24, 2023 6:43 PM CDT

A personal chef to former President Obama's family has died while paddleboarding near Obama's summer home on Martha's Vineyard, state police said Monday. Tafari Campbell's body was found after a large-scale overnight search in about 8 feet of water, 100 feet from shore in Edgartown Great Pond, Massachusetts officials said. He had gone missing about 7:45pm Sunday, NBC News reports. A witness later reported seeing him struggle just after going into the water. In a statement, the former president and his wife, Michelle, described Campbell, 45, as "a beloved part of our family."

The couple said Campbell was "a talented sous chef" at the White House whom they asked to continue working for them after Obama's presidency, per the New York Times. "He's been part of our lives ever since," the statement said. "Our hearts are broken that he's gone." Campbell, who lived in Dumfries, Virginia, was on a visit to the island; the Obamas were not home at the time. The death is being investigated. The Obamas said Campbell, who was married with twin boys, was "a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of our lives a little brighter." (More Obama family stories.)

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