The oldest conjoined twins in the world, Lori and George Schappell, passed away at age 62

According to their obituary, George and Lori Schappell, the oldest conjoined twins alive, passed away on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The twins were born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on September 18, 1961. At 62 years and 202 days, they were nine years older than the second-oldest pair of conjoined twins born to a woman that has ever been documented, as stated in the Guinness Book of World Records.

As the craniopagus twins, Lori and George were linked at the head but had separate bodies. According to Guinness, they shared 30% of their brain, some blood arteries, and partially fused skulls. George had spina bifida and had a wheeled stool that Lori would push and steer in order to go around, whereas Lori was able to walk.

In 2007, George came out as transsexual.

George once went by Reba, after the country music performer Reba McEntire, before going through a transformation.

Lori and George, who attended the Hiram G. Andrews Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, were once employed at Reading Hospital.

According to their obituary, the twins have lived independently since they were 24 years old.

The couple described to director Antony Thomas in 1997 how they led independent lives and allowed one another to follow their individual passions. The twins are shown let Thomas into their flat in the footage, which can be found on the True Lives YouTube channel.

George, like his former namesake Reba, was a country music performer. The twins would go to George’s room and Lori would allow him some quiet time when he needed it for practice.

“I’m here in body; this is her room, but that’s all.” In the video, Lori states, “This is her place.”

In the documentary, George states, “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.”

“Just because we cannot get up and walk away from each other doesn’t mean we cannot have solitude from other people or ourselves,” Lori continues. “People who are conjoined can have a very private life.”

“If you love the person you’re with and you respect them, you’re going to give them the privacy and compromise in situations that you would want them to give you,” George continued.

According to her obituary, Lori liked bowling and had multiple awards to her name. She also had other interests.

According to Guinness, the twins lived in separate rooms in their apartment and alternated between spending the night in each of them.

On the long-running Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon that aired on Labor Day, Lori and George were also guests.

They also made appearances in documentaries and on a number of TV talk shows.