At the age of 62, the oldest conjoined twins in history passed away. According to their online obituaries from the Leibensperger Funeral Homes, Lori and George Schappell passed away on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.In a statement, Guinness World Records also confirmed the deaths.
”Guinness World Records are saddened to learn of the passing of Lori and George Schappell, the world’s oldest conjoined twins. George enjoyed a successful career as a country singer, whilst Lori was a trophy-winning ten-pin bowler,” GWR wrote in a post on X.
Guinness World Records are saddened to learn of the passing of Lori and George Schappell, the world's oldest conjoined twins.
George enjoyed a successful career as a country singer, whilst Lori was a trophy-winning ten-pin bowler.
Read more about their lives below 👇
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) April 12, 2024
The Guinness World Records website states that the pair, who were 62 years and 202 days old, held the record for the oldest conjoined twins still alive.
Lori and George, who were born on September 18, 1961, shared 30% of their brains and had partially fused skulls. They also shared vital blood vessels. The twins had different careers and were different people despite having the same head.
As a country singer, George had great success, and Lori was a trophy-winning ten-pin bowler. Throughout the 1990s, Lori also worked for a number of years at a hospital laundry, scheduling her shifts around George’s international gigs that took them to places like Germany and Japan.
They also became the world’s first same-sex conjoined twins to identify as different genders in 2007 when George started presenting as a man after revealing himself to be transgender.
The twins lived independently in a two-bedroom apartment in Pennsylvania. They each had their room – alternating nights spent in each one – and tried to live their lives as far as possible. They took turns practising their separate hobbies and said they effectively ‘zoned out’ when in each other’s room.
The twins claimed in a 1997 documentary that they took separate showers and bathed one at a time.One stood outside the bath and the other took a shower, using the shower curtain as a barrier.
They also said that they wished to never be apart. “Could we end up apart? Not at all. Why fix what is not broken, in my opinion? stated George.
Their father, six siblings, numerous nieces and nephews, as well as an extended network of friends, survive Lori and George.
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