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Funeral details for Gaylon brothers, longest-surviving conjoined twins, released

Donnie and Ronnie Galyon are nearing the record for longest living conjoined twins. The Galyons, born October 28, 1951 at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Dayton, now live in Beavercreek with their brother, Jim Galyon and his wife Mary, who provide 24-7 care for them. DREW SIMON / STAFF

Donnie and Ronnie Galyon are nearing the record for longest living conjoined twins. The Galyons, born October 28, 1951 at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Dayton, now live in Beavercreek with their brother, Jim Galyon and his wife Mary, who provide 24-7 care for them. DREW SIMON / STAFF
Local News
By Micah Karr
July 26, 2020
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Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, the Dayton-area brothers who became famous as the world’s longest-living conjoined twins, died on Saturday, July 4. They were 68. Visitation for the twins will be held on Thursday, July 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Newcomer Cremations, Funerals and Receptions at their Beavercreek Chapel as well as a funeral service on Friday, July 31 at 10 a.m. at the same location. They will be buried at David’s Cemetery in Dayton.

Dave Galyon, a brother, announced in a Facebook post on July 4 that his brothers had died that morning, and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office confirmed the deaths were reported to that office.

The Dayton community followed the brothers’ lives since their birth.

ExploreGaylon brothers, longest-living conjoined twins, die at 68

Donnie came first on Oct. 28, 1951, with Ronnie surprising everyone minutes later with his very literal connection to his brother, wrote the Dayton Daily News in 2009 after an interview with the twins.

“We had a good doctor,” Ronnie said in 2009 . “We’re lucky.”

The twins’ obituary thanked Warren Ljungren and Glen Kwiat, both doctors, for their care and friendship. The brothers were lifelong Dallas Cowboy fans and love the Cincinnati Reds, their obituary stated. They passionately collected Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars and loved camping and fishing.

In 2014, the Dayton Daily News contacted officials at Guinness World Records, and a spokeswoman told the newspaper would recognize the twins as the world’s longest-living when they turned 63, after passing a pair of Italian twins. Acknowledgement from Guinness World Records was what the two brothers had been looking forward to for years.

“It’s what me and Donnie’s always dreamed about, and we hope to get the ring, because we’ve dreamed about getting this since we were kids,” Ronnie Galyon said in an interview in July 2014.

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About the Author

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Micah Karr, a Beavercreek native has been on a breaking news desk since 2019. She has been part of Ohio Newspapers' Breaking News Team since March 2020 and has enjoyed every minute of it. She is a graduate of Wright State's Media Studies program. Before she worked with Cox Media, she wrote for Wright State's Newsroom.