evidence: While Barack and Michelle Obama wanted to ensure their daughters Sasha and Malia grew up as "normal" as possible, one way that they extended the perks of the White House into their everyday lives after Barack was no longer president was by hiring their own personal chef. They went with White House sous chef Tafari Campbell. However, Campbell's life ended six years after Obama left office after a paddleboarding outing went tragically wrong. On the evening of July 23, 2023, Campbell was paddling out on the water near Barack and Michelle's Martha's Vineyard estate, and he was seen going under the water and not coming back up, which triggered a large, hours-long search. [...] Tafari Campbell had a positive relationship with the Obama family [...] After news broke that Campbell had died, Michelle and Barack Obama released a statement about him and the impact he'd had on their lives. "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. 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," as reported by AP News. The whole family, including Sasha and Malia, were close to many on the White House staff, but clearly Campbell held a special place in their hearts as their personal chef, post-White House.