Lori and George Schappell, who were the oldest living conjoined twins in the world, have reportedly died at the age of 62, marking the end to an inspiring and unbelievable life for both of them.
The twins reportedly died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on April 7th. News of their death is just being reported now.
The siblings were joined at the head and each had different bodies. George had come out as transgender in the year 2007, and underwent a transition surgery. Guinness reported that the twins had partially fused skulls and shared blood vessels and 30% of their brain.
The Schappells were born on Sept. 18, 1961, in West Reading, Pennsylvania. At 62 years old, they were 9 years older than the next oldest conjoined twins ever recorded. They were not only the longest living conjoined twins alive today, but the longest living of all time.
CBS News reports on the death of the Schappells,
The twins lived on their own since they were 24 years old, their obituary says.
In 1997, the pair told filmmaker Antony Thomas how they kept separate lives and let each other pursue their own interests. The video is available on the True Lives YouTube channel and shows the twins letting Thomas into their apartment.
Like his prior namesake Reba, George was a country singer himself. When he needed time to rehearse, the twins would go to George’s room and Lori would give him peace and quiet.
“This is her room, I’m here in body, but that is it. This is her place,” Lori says in the video.
“I treat back here like I’m in a concert and yes, she cannot interrupt me or talk to me while I’m out performing,” George says in the documentary.
CBS NEws
Rest in peace to these remarkable twins!
