In what is probably the most bizarre Padres related story I’ve ever come across, the ashes of Henry Lefebvre, nephew of former Padres hitting coach Jim Lefebvre, were discovered in a box at an Ocean Beach car wash.
Henry was a star running back for the University of Southern California Trojans from 1923 to 1925; he was on the same Trojans team with Hollywood star and friend John Wayne.
But Henry’s claim to fame was his invention of the ping pong net, which made him a millionaire, according to 10News.
Henry Lefebvre was born in October 1900 and passed away in May 1995. His family thought he was resting peacefully until his ashes were discovered abandoned in an Ocean Beach car wash.
Family members remember attending Henry’s funeral, complete with a casket at a cemetery in Los Angeles. When he was cremated his remains were to go to his third wife, according to U-T San Diego.
“It’s an absolute shock that someone like that would wind up at a car wash,” nephew and former Padres hitting coach Jim Lefebvre told U-T San Diego.
Jim Lefebvre was the Padres hitting coach for parts of the 2009, before getting fired on July 31, 2009.
It appears that Henry Lefebvre will finally go to his resting place.