The world lost the oldest living conjoined twins, Lori and George Schappell. They died in their home state of Pennsylvania at the age of 62.
Lori and George Schappell were both born on September 18, 1961, in Reading, Pennsylvania. They had a special bond because their skulls were joined together, but their bodies were separate. 30% of their brains and important blood vessels were still connected.
Their amazing journey came to an end on April 7 at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, as their obituary said. The reason they died has not been made public.
George had spina bifida, so he needed a mobility aid. Lori pushed and turned his wheeled stool, which made it easier for them to move around together. NBC Today said that theirs was the rarest type of conjoined twinning; it only happens to 2% to 6% of conjoined twins.
According to Guinness World Records, George made history when he transitioned in 2007. He and his twin brother were the first same-sex conjoined twins to identify as different genders. In 2011, when they went to London to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, George talked to The Sun about his journey as a transgender man. He said, “I have known from a very young age that I should have been a boy.”
After graduating from the Hiram G. Andrews Center, both siblings went to work at Reading Hospital. Even though they lived close to each other, they had separate interests and hobbies. George followed his love of music and became a country singer, entertaining people all over the world. Lori, on the other hand, was very good at tenpin bowling.
Surprisingly, the Schappells have lived on their own since they were 24 years old. They lived in an institution at first, and then they shared a two-bedroom apartment, but each sibling had their own room. They talked about how important privacy was and showed that even though they were physically close, they could still be alone when they needed to be.
The Schappells refused to think about being apart, which wasn’t possible for them at the time. Instead, they embraced their unique bond.
“Would we be split up?” In a 1997 documentary, George said, “Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?”
For more on this, Lori told the Los Angeles Times in 2002, “I don’t believe in separation.”
At this sad time, we send our condolences to Lori and George’s family and friends.
