Ronald Lee Galyon and Donald Lee Galyon (October 28, 1951 – July 4, 2020) were American

conjoined twins Conjoined twins, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined '' in utero''. It is a very rare phenomenon, estimated to occur in anywhere between one in 50,000 births to one in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in south ...

from

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. According to the 2009 ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'', the Galyons were the oldest living set of conjoined twins in the world, and, as of October 29, 2014, possessed the world record for the longest-lived conjoined twins in history when they surpassed prior record holders

Chang and Eng Bunker Chang Bunker (จัน บังเกอร์) and Eng Bunker (อิน บังเกอร์) (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Siamese (Thai)-American conjoined twins, conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression " ...

Early life and career

The twins were born at St. Elizabeth Hospital in

, on October 28, 1951, to Wesley and Eileen Galyon. Eileen was not expecting twins. They were joined from the

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

to the

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

and shared a set of organs. After a two-year stay in the hospital, it was determined that they could not be safely separated. Local schools deemed the twins a distraction, so they were not formally educated, resulting in their life-long

functional illiteracy Functional illiteracy consists of reading and writing skills that are inadequate "to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level". Those who read and write only in a language other than the predominan ...

. With nine children to support, their father Wesley decided to take the twins on the road as a

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

attraction. The boys were exhibited in sideshows throughout the U.S. and later in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and Canada. Their tours made them celebrities and provided an income with which they supported their family.

Later life

In 1991, after three decades in entertainment, the pair retired and moved into their first independent home in

, in a house purchased with sideshow earnings. They were active in the community and lived a largely normal life by means of a custom double wheelchair. Although retired from show business, the twins made numerous television appearances. They appeared on ''

The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Jerry Springer. The show ran for twenty-seven seasons from September 30, 1991, to July 26, 2018, in which it broadcast 3,891 episodes. It was taped at the NB ...

'' in 1997, a

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

in 1998 and a

Channel Five 5 (formerly known as Channel 5 and Five) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Param ...

documentary in 2009. They were interviewed for the 1999 American documentary film ''Sideshow: Alive on the Inside''. In 2009, Ronnie developed a life-threatening infection in his lungs, which quickly endangered both twins. After their hospitalization, they required round-the-clock care. The house they lived in was no longer suitable and the twins were unwilling to move to

Assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States. Still, the setting i ...

. Their younger brother Jim and his wife Mary, who lived in the same city, were unable to bring the twins into their home as it was not handicap accessible, until an outpouring of donations and volunteers from the local community assisted in building a special addition to the home. On December 22, 2010,

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

premiered "The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins Move Home", which documented the building process as well as the twins' recovery and their return to the community.

Death

The twins, aged 68, died of congestive

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

in a hospice surrounded by their family in their native Dayton, Ohio, on July 4, 2020. As per their final wishes, a custom casket was built for the twins to rest in together. They were buried at David’s Cemetery in

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The city had a population of 57,862 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous suburb in the Dayton metr ...

.https://www.whio.com/news/local/funeral-services-set-conjoined-galyon-twins-beavercreek/QHITSPKDE5AR3PCTM7JG67IHBQ/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galyon, Ronnie and Donnie 1951 births 2020 deaths American twins Conjoined twins Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States Participants in American reality television series People from Dayton, Ohio Sideshow performers