Lori and George Schappell, World's Oldest Conjoined Twins, Dead at 62

Lori Schappell and George Schappell

Lori and George Schappell, the world’s oldest conjoined twins, died on Sunday, April 7. They were 62.

Lori and George were at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at the time of their deaths, an obituary published by Leibensperger Funeral Homes, Inc., said. The obituary did not include the cause of death.

The twins were born on Sept. 18, 1961, in West Reading, Penn. Since they were conjoined at the head, with their skulls partially fused as they shared part of their brains and some important blood vessels, medical professionals at the time did not believe they would live beyond 30, according to Guinness World Records.

Their birth as craniopagus twins made them among the rarest of conjoined twins, with a December 2023 Guinness World Records blog post explaining that only 2 to 6 percent of all conjoined twins have partially fused skulls.

Born Lori and Dori, Dori became known as George in 2007 after identifying as transgender. The shift made them the first to have one person embrace a new gender identity after being born as part of a same-sex set of conjoined twins, the Guinness World Records said in a tribute to the twins that was published in reaction to the news of their deaths.

Lori and George both graduated from Hiram G. Andrews Center and went on to work at the Reading Hospital, their obituary said. Though George had spina bifida and was unable to walk, the twins mostly lived independently since they were 24, with Lori helping her twin move around through the use of a special wheelchair. They each embraced different hobbies, with George enjoying performing as a country singer and traveling while Lori enjoyed bowling. At the time of their deaths, they were living in a shared apartment in Pennsylvania, with one room for each twin.

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