Taylor Swift's wedding day on Friday, July 3, was overshadowed by the tragic death of her former teacher and security guard, Kirk Schwabe, aged 69. His family confirmed to The Telegraph that he had died following a battle with metastatic kidney cancer.
Family Confirms Death
On Thursday, his daughter Sarah Gordon revealed that her father had been moved to hospice care after his health "declined rapidly." Alongside a picture of her dad with Swift and a sales award for her 2006 album, Ms Gordon wrote: "Over the past several weeks, his health has declined rapidly and he has now been moved to hospice care. If you know my dad, you know he has poured his heart into everything he’s done. He has always loved teaching. He loves his students."
Background: From Teacher to Security Guard
Mr Schwabe was a police officer in Chicago before becoming a criminal justice educator. He taught Swift criminal justice at Hendersonville High School in Nashville from 2004 to 2006, while she was a teenager. He later switched careers once more to become her personal security guard in 2009, retiring from teaching to work for the Grammy-winning singer.
Final Interview and Fond Memories
Prior to his death, he expressed his delight that Swift was marrying NFL star Travis Kelce. "I do trust Taylor’s judgement. She knows what’s best," he said in an interview with The Telegraph on July 2. In the same conversation, he recalled telling the star her life was about to change as her career took off. "I told her, you’re a superstar. This is not fun and games no more. You are it. Everything keeps going up and up and up, and the sky’s the limit for you," he said.
Dedication and Burnout
During his time working for Swift, he took his duties very seriously and confided his worries about the job in an interview. "If anything happens, I’m the guy. We got 400-500 people in here, and I got some extra security guards, but I don’t know a lot of these guys who got hired, I don’t know what their qualifications are." He eventually resigned due to burnout but remained fond of the singer.
Swift's Homage
Swift was so fond of Mr Schwabe that she paid homage to him with her cameo in the 2010 film Valentine's Day. Her character has a teacher named Mr Schwabe, named after him.
The Wedding
Swift and Kelce tied the knot in front of a who's who of celebrity guests on Friday at Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan, nearly three years after their first meeting.
