World Oldest Conjoined Twins Die At 62
The world’s oldest conjoined twins, Lori and George Schappell, have died at the age of 62, Daily Mail reported.
According to their obituaries, the twins died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The cause of death is undisclosed.
The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, had partially fused skulls and shared 30 percent of their brains. They defied doctors who said they wouldn’t live past 30.
They became the oldest female conjoined twins ever in 2015, overtaking Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, who died aged 53.
The twins were born on Sept. 18, 1961, in West Reading, Pennsylvania, and had distinct brains but were joined at the skull. Lori was non-disabled, but George, who had spina bifida, used a wheelchair, which his twin pushed around.
However, the twins had previously made headlines after George, formerly Dori, came out as transgender. The twins later became the first same-sex conjoined twins to identify as different genders.
Lori had enjoyed a successful career as a country singer, but she pursued her interests elsewhere as a trophy-winning ten-pin bowler.
She also worked at a hospital laundry for several years during the ’90s, arranging her schedule around George’s gigs. The pair has appeared on numerous shows, including “Jerry Springer,” “The Maury Povich Show” and “The Howard Stern Radio Show.”
The twins lived independently in a two-bedroom flat in Pennsylvania, alternating between their separate hobbies. They took turns sleeping in each other’s rooms and showered separately, using the shower curtain as a barrier while one stood outside the bath.
In the past, when asked whether they had ever wished to be separated, Lori and George said no.
“Would we be separated? Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?” George said. “Just because we cannot get up and walk away from each other doesn’t mean that we cannot have solitude from other people or ourselves,” Lori added.
Lori and George are survived by their father, six siblings, and several nieces and nephews.