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Who were Lori and George Schappell? World's oldest female conjoined twins die at 62 in Pennsylvania
Lori and George Schappell, the world's oldest conjoined twins, passed away at the age of 62. However, the cause of their death remains unknown.
Lori and George Schappell, the world's oldest conjoined twins, breathed their last at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. The siblings were 62-year-old.
The twins, who were born in Pennsylvania on September 18, 1961, passed away on April 7, as per an obituary posted online by Leibensperger Funeral Homes. However, the cause of their death hasn't been disclosed yet.
The pair, who also held the record of being the oldest female conjoined twins ever in 2017, shared 30% of their brain (frontal and parietal lobes) as they had partially fused skulls. They also shared vital blood arteries, according to the Guinness World Records.
Born to the late Ruth G. (Reppert) Schappell and Franklin G. Schappell, the twins graduated from the Hiram G Andrews Centre and worked at the Reading Hospital.
The duo was declared as the world's first set of conjoined twins of the same sex to identify as different genders in 2007, when George started identifying himself as a man after coming out as transgender.
In the past, George went by the name Reba as he disliked the rhyming names that were given to him and Lori.
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Medicals experts predicted that twins would not survive past the age of 30
The twins contradicted the medical experts' prognosis that they wouldn't survive past the age of 30. In 2015, they surpassed the 53-year-old Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova to become the oldest conjoined twins ever.
While George performed across the United States as a country singer, Lori was a trophy-winning bowler, as per the obituary. George had even performed in Germany and Japan.
Although Lori was able-bodied, George relied on a wheelchair due to a condition known as spina bifida. They used to set their schedules according to each other's preferences.
Despite facing several challenges, the siblings made an effort to have unique lives. They both lived in a two-bedroom apartment and had different rooms where they spent nights on alternate days.
According to the Guinness World Record, the duo used to take separate showers and make time for each other's hobbies.
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Lori and George never wanted to be separated from each other
In September 2011, they discussed their life on ITV's This Morning and in a number of documentaries.
The siblings described to director Antony Thomas in 1997 how they led independent lives and allowed each other to follow their individual passions. The video of their interview with Thomas is available on the True Lives YouTube channel.
In the 1997 documentary, the duo stated that they would never want to be apart. "Would we be separated? Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?" George stated.
Lori and George are survived by their father, Franklin G. Schappell, and six siblings.
