Lori and George Schappell, conjoined twins whose skulls were partly fused but who managed to lead independent lives, died on April 7 in Philadelphia. Their death, at a hospital, was announced by a funeral home, which did not cite a cause. Dr. Christopher Moir, a professor of surgery at the Mayo Clinic, who has been on teams that separated six sets of conjoined twins — although none of them were joined at the head — said that when one of the Schappells died, the other would have almost certainly followed quickly. “Conjoined twins share circulation,” he said, “so unless you somehow emergently divide their connection, it’s absolutely a fatal, nonviable process.”The Schappells lived much longer than had been expected when they were born as craniopagus twins, joined at the head, which is rare. They were cited as the second-oldest conjoined twins ever by Guinness World Records.

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Persons: Lori, George Schappell, Christopher Moir, —, Schappells, ” Organizations: Mayo Clinic, Guinness World Records Locations: Philadelphia