Lori and George Schappell were the oldest conjoined twins in the world when they ᴘᴀssᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. The oldest conjoined twins in the world are 62 years old.
On September 18, 1961, Lori and George Schappell were born in Pennsylvania, USA, with their heads conjoined and facing opposite directions.
At the time of their deaths, they were the world’s oldest pair of conjoined twins, conjoined at the head and facing in opposite directions.
Lori and George’s skulls were connected, and they shared a blood supply and about 30 percent of their brain together.
This is the rarest form of conjoined twins, accounting for only two to six percent of cases.
The twins expressed their aversion to separation. In a 1997 documentary, George expressed his thoughts on the possibility of separation.
Absolutely not. My theory is: Why fix what is not broken?” The pair, though joined at the head, continued to live independently of each other.
Lori and George would engage in their own hobbies in their respective rooms, while the other said they would simply “zone out.”
Lori explained: “Just because we cannot get up and walk away from each other doesn’t mean we cannot have solitude from other people or ourselves.”
The couple also took this attitude into their romantic lives.
Speaking to The Sun in 2011, Lori said: “When I went on dates, George would bring along books to read and, as we don’t face each other, he could ignore any kissing.”
After Lori lost her love to her second boyfriend at the age of 23, George said he was able to ‘act like I’m not even there’ while she was with a partner. Lori became engaged at one point, but tragically lost her fiancé in a car ᴀᴄᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛ.
“George took care of me.” Without his support, I doubt I could have survived the heartbreak, she said.
George and Lori lived to the age of 62, surpassing all expectations of medics when they were born.
Many medics at the time did not think that the twins would live to see their 30th birthday.
In 2007, George came out as a trans man.
He said, “I have known from a very young age that I should have been a boy.
“I loved playing with trains and hated girly outfits. I kept my desire to change sex hidden—even from Lori—for many years.”
“It was so tough, but I was getting older and I simply didn’t want to live a lie. I knew I had to live my life the way I wanted,” he added.
Lori was supportive of her brother, saying, “Obviously it was a sh*t when Dori changed to George, but I am so proud of him.”