Oldest conjoined twins die at 62

Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and George Schappell, who died this month in Pennsylvania, spent their lives pursuing separate careers, interests and relationships, according to funeral home officials. Contrary to medical expectations. They are 62 years old.

The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, according to an obituary posted by Liebensperger Funeral Home in Hamburg. The cause of death was not specified.

According to the “Philadelphia Inquirer”, Lowry said in an interview on his 50th birthday: “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we would live to be 30, but we proved them wrong.” In 2007, George publicly admitted I am transgender myself.

The twins were born on September 18, 1961, in West Reading, Pennsylvania, with different brains but connected skulls. George has spina bifida and is 4 inches shorter, and Lori pushes George around on an adaptive wheelchair. The obituary said that while each had to go where the other went, it was “very important” to both parties to “live as independently as possible.”

Both graduated from public high schools and took college courses. George and Lori worked together in the hospital laundry room for six years. The obituary described Lori as “a trophy-winning bowler” who gave up the job in 1996 so her siblings could launch country music careers.

“They had owned their own home since the age of 24 and traveled extensively,” the obituary said. Over the years, they appeared in numerous documentaries and talk shows, as well as an episode of the FX medical drama “Nip/Tuck.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Lowry was engaged, but her fiancé died in a car accident.

“When I go on dates,” Lori said, “George brings books to read.”

The twins stated in a 1997 documentary that they had different bath times, one at a time. George talks about giving people you love and respect “the privacy and compromise of what you want them to give you.” Compromise, Lowry said, means “you can’t get everything you want when you want it.”

Conjoined twins occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births when identical twins from a single embryo fail to separate. About 70% are women, and the majority are stillborn. Only a small portion connects at the head, nearly three-quarters at the chest, and others at the abdomen or pelvis.

Separation was considered risky for the Schappell twins, but Lori Schappell told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview at the twins’ apartment in a high-rise senior housing complex that she didn’t think such surgery was necessary anyway. .

“You can’t destroy God’s creation, even if it means you have less time to enjoy two children,” she said. In the 1997 documentary, George also strongly ruled out the idea of ​​separation, saying: “Why fix something that’s not broken?”

It’s unclear who will take the title of oldest living conjoined twins. The oldest people on record were Ronnie Galyon and Donnie Galyon, who died in 2020 at the age of 68. Eng Bunker and Chang Bunker were 19th century “Siamese twins” famous for their circus performances and lived to be 63 years old.

Survivors of the Schaper twins include their father and six siblings. The funeral home said a private funeral is planned.