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It took 11 days and the help of dozens of strangers, but police, with the help of amateur sleuths, have located the family of the reclusive twin sisters who were found dead in their California home last month.
NBCBayArea reported that the burst of publicity when the story surfaced helped officials locate cousins of Patricia and Joan Miller. Det. Matt Harwood, of the El Dorado County sheriff's office, said the twins have two cousins in Portland and also a cousin in the Bay Area.
The Millers lived for nearly 40 years in South Lake Tahoe but often shunned their neighbors. Their shared life ended in a mysterious double death. Police found one sister in a bedroom and the other in a hallway during a routine welfare check on Feb. 26. They were 73.
Police usually do not release the names of the dead without first informing their relatives, but the sisters' shrouded lives made that impossible, said Harwood. With little information about the twins' personal lives to work from, investigators issued a public plea this week asking for help in notifying the sisters' next of kin.
KNTV
Undated photo of Patricia and Joan Miller
The response was overwhelming. Emails and phone calls poured in and with the help of amateur genealogists who read media accounts of the sisters' deaths, investigators tracked down a first cousin and two second cousins late Wednesday.
The cousins hadn't heard from the sisters in years.
"They confirmed pretty much what everyone else told me," Harwood said. "They were pretty reclusive and no one really knows why."
Harwood said the cousins told him they had lost touch with the sisters through the years as other family members passed away.
"They were just sort of the twins that no one had heard from in a long time," he said.
See the full report on the twins from NBCBayArea
Different names
The cousins don't share the Miller sisters' last name, which might be why police had such a hard time finding them. They were tracked down by at-home sleuths, who passed on the family members' contact information to police. In one case, someone called one of the cousins to confirm their blood line before giving the name to Harwood.
Harwood said the sisters deserved to have their family know about their death, and he was pleased to complete that mission with help from "people from across the country, just your Average Joe wanting to try their hand on genealogy," he said.
"There's no way we could have done it without you guys in the press and literally hundreds of people just calling to help put the pieces together," Harwood said.
One of the second cousins lives in the San Francisco Bay area, and the two other cousins live in Portland, Ore., where the twins grew up.
Harwood said he has yet to find a will but plans to give some of the twins' personal items, including their mother's furniture and family photo albums, to the cousins.
The discovery of next of kin provides some answers to the twins' mysterious end, but their puzzle is far from solved.
Medical investigators have not been able to determine how or when the women died, but their decomposed bodies suggest they had been dead for at least several weeks when they were found, Harwood said. Toxicology reports likely won't be available for at least two more months.
There was no blood or signs of struggle. The sisters' longtime home was not unkempt and they didn't have a history of severe health problems, Harwood said.
"My perception is one died and the other couldn't handle it," he said this week. "It appears purely natural, but we are still trying to piece it all together."
Investigators hope to soon narrow down when the sisters died. It's unlikely their killer was carbon monoxide poisoning, a common danger in the winter, because a window had been left open and the house was well ventilated.
A neighbor spotted an ambulance at their house about a year ago and assumed the sisters had fallen ill. Someone asked police to check regularly on the house. When officers arrived Feb. 25 for a routine check, no one answered the door. The next day, police forced their way in and found the bodies.
The twins were the daughters of Fay Lang and Elmon Gordon Miller, who went by the name "Bud" and was born in 1895 in Bremen, Ky., Harwood said. Their father was a dairy salesman in Oakland, Calif., at one point, Harwood said.
The sisters were never married and didn't have children or pets. They seemed to prefer only each other's company. They purchased their four-bedroom home together in 1976 and may have been each other's only close friend.
Joan Miller was a senior accounting clerk in the payroll department at the Lake Tahoe Unified School District from 1979 to 1984. Patricia Miller, who drove a white convertible with red upholstery, worked in the El Dorado County's social services office during that same time.
When people called, the sisters came up with excuses to get off the phone. Without explanation, they stopped sending birthday cards to a childhood friend about a year ago. And on the rare occasion when they left their home, the two women didn't chat up the neighbors.
As news of the deaths spread, former South Lake Tahoe residents called police to report that they had lived near the sisters for decades, in some cases, and had hardly seen them. One sent in a postcard that claimed the sisters were the only remaining members of their family after their mother's death and their brother died at war.
Their secluded lives in their final years stand in contrast to a youth full of glamour and entertainment.
When the twins did talk to outsiders, they often spoke of the singing career they had shared in their younger years. The women briefly appeared on a 1950s television show called the "The Hoffman Hayride" and posed for a picture with Bing Crosby as children. The twins also entertained troops at military bases, a childhood friend told Harwood.
They appear young, beautiful and elegant in matching off-the-shoulder gowns in a picture released by police.
But the twins never seemed interested in dating or expanding their social spheres. They listed each other as their next of kin, Harwood said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Sometimes twins develop their own special language they only use between themselves. It is a fascinating subject matter.
"Without explanation, they stopped sending birthday cards to a childhood friend about a year ago."
Um, how many birthday cards are you supposed to send to someone in "about a year"?
So they may have missed one, stop trying to be dramatic.
For those who send cards yearly for decades or more to all of a sudden forget one, you know something isn't quite right. Stop trying to tell others how to be and maybe concentrate on your own dramatics..
I agree with pjam09--the way it is worded makes it sound more dramatic. It is also misleading. A better way to word it would have been to simply say that the twins failed to send the regular yearly birthday card this last time. I don't find anything in the way of "dramatics" in pjam09's post.
You know i agree with pjam09....mayb they were just getting old and forgot!!!
or may have just gotten lost in the mail...classic US Post Office
The "special language" that twins develop is in infancy and young childhood, not as adults.
You gotta hand it to BSNBC. Usually they write one sentence paragraphs and put unnecessary fluff into an article. The writers also usually give no details to a story. However, they made an exception in this article. They produced a two-sentence paragraph detailing how inept the police department is. Amateur "detectives" could find info the paid professionals were incapable of locating.
Not true. My twin uncles had their own language well into their later years and when they got together and started talking no one else knew what they were talking about. Perhaps researchers haven't followed enough twins who lived into their 80's to make a report, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Completely understandable. The older I get and the more I have do deal with increasingly dopey people (just reading blogs makes me worry about the sanity of most Americans), the more I wish I lived in a big home in peaceful Tahoe ... away from it all. They lived, they worked, they died - all in their own way and how they wanted. That's how it used to be in this country, before one's life became fodder for every busybody on the internet.
I find you to be a fascinating subject matter with your own hoitty-toitty language.
About a year ago = less than a year
Over a year ago = more than 12 months.
pjam is right... why send a B'day card more than once a year ?
Should read,
Super sleuths,with no help from Amateur police, have located the family of the reclusive twin sisters who were found dead in their California home last month.
Last time anyone had seen them alive they were fighting with each other. I think they probably both came to the conclusion that they could not live together any more.Both of them hatched an evil plan to poison the other,they were probably both laughing and talking as they watched their sister drink the poison wine thinking that they had won.
Double homicide.
Come on coppers, get with the program.
These two sure sound like a couple of weirdo's!!
Collyer brothers look them up
Dude, I just have to say every time I see your "handle-name" I burst out laughing, thanks.
He is funny but needs to change his taste in women. Bristol? LOL
Haven't you ever wished you could go incognito?
They were not weirdo's, they were just very private!
I have to comment about your name (I'd bang Bristol), good luck with what you may find, lol.
Ya, the people who plaster their entire lives on Facebook are the real weirdo's in this world!!!
Ummm Ya, thank god you don't Bristol Banger! LMFAO. Pot/kettle. Yikes!
Your name makes you sound even more weird. Some people.
I agree stonepipe, always chuckle...
Idiot.
Dude, come clean now,"Bristol" is really the pet name you gave to your right palm. Sure is a funny "handle" though.
I'd bang Bristol
So much for taste.
I'd Bang Bristol is hilarious. Lighten up, folks.
You have to admit, it is funny.
However, I think he really means "I'd bang Sarah"
I Banged Bristol;
You made my day with everyone talking about your handle. LOL, LOL
jerryk1; The old comparison routine. LOL
A 2 for 1 would be even better
All kidding aside about who we would bang, I say follow the money. If they were reclusive, they probably had money stashed away.
Lol, you guys are hilarious.
Frisch, I didn't know my handle was so popular.
Hey Jan, I love you too!
Sounds more to me like they were hurt somewhere along the line and withdrew from society. And it is not easy to completely shelter yourself from the public. No gardener, no housekeeper, no one? Not easy.
Hmm, the gardener and housekeeper at my house is ME. It's not so difficult. ;)
I agree............I think something really bad must have happened. A shame they were never able to get past it.
Gardener and housekeeper? You must be one of the 1%. Either that or very pretentious.
I agree. After reading the article I had a strange feeling that maybe something bad had happend while they sang for the military and then they only confided in eachother. Very interesting story.
From what I understand, the twins frequented an ice cream shop in Lake Tahoe (CA side) during summertime. They both would order mint chocolate chip in sugar cones, never sharing from one cone. When the mountain biking craze hit Tahoe in the 90's, the ladies resisted the trend and rode around on a bicycle built for two, pedaling in Dexter sandals over socks. The only time they garnered unusual attention was when a grizzly lumbered down from the hills and got into people's trash, and one twin was seen beating the animal on the snout with a broomstick while the other twin swatted its rump with a dustpan. Neither twin agreed to be interviewed by the local weekly after that, because a columnist had started a Facebook page for the harassed bear and claimed that had it been a polar bear--i.e. white--those ladies would have treated it more kindly. Thereafter, in protest, the twins--and this is where it gets ironic--decided just to "hibernate" from the town and keep to themselves.
If the neighbors rarely saw them then why would you think anybody else did....the whole article is about how they stayed to themselves.... I know that people like us don't do that but is seems those two just wanted to be together....I do know several sets of twins and they do depend on each other alot but not to this extreme...I'm just wondering why if they stayed together all the time and didn't have company why they bought a 4 bedroom home
These twins had a right not to deal with you crazy neighbors!! I do not think anything bad happened they were just smarter than most!!!
I agree with the others, someone must have done something horrible to them & the person they trusted enough to tell- probably refused to believe them. It would explain why they cut themselves off from others. As for Debbie wondering why they would get a 4 bedroom house if they never planned on having guests... My husband & I have a 2 bedroom home that the previous owners turned the attached garage into two rooms (I'd rather had the garage). In the 5 years I've been here we've only had 2 guests (my parents). Since my hubby & I have different ideas about the word "order"- we use the "extra" rooms as offices. This way we don't drive each other crazy. I can keep mine as neat as I want & he doesn't have to worry about me "hiding his tools/parts." If we ever do get company- I can simply close the door on the mess.
Optomyst- posted,
ABCzyx posted,
I thought it was well thought out and posted to get a response, and it made me laugh.
Thanks, Optomyst
Police found one sister in a bedroom and the other in a hallway during a routine welfare check on Feb. 26. They were 73.
Medical investigators have not been able to determine how or when the women died, but their decomposed bodies suggest they had been dead for at least several weeks when they were found,
so the cops were checking on them but they were dead for several weeks what kind of checking were they doing ???????????/ more like checking on the donuts and coffee down at the starbucks
So, when the police become mind readers and are able to see through brick walls with their naked eyes, will you be happy then?
Tell us all how you would have detected two reclusive, withdrawn elderly women in time to have saved them both from this misery! We're dying to hear all about your super powers of deduction, Detective Friday!
How often should they be checking on them? I would say once every few weeks (between two and four weeks) would be an acceptable timeframe, especially since the checking wasn't because of anything criminal. It's because they were reclusive.
When they did their regular check and no one answered, they went back the next day, and forced their way in when again they got no answer. Sounds like they did it right.
Agreed - I was thinking they probably did a monthly check on these ladies.
I know, right. Let's make sure when I'm old and by myself that that squad isn't responsible for looking in on me.
@lazurite,
Why, 73 is not exactly old these days unless of course you are 25..??
tommy - the sisters were reclusive and didn't want anyone checking on them or knocking on their front door. Like MagnoliaSimms posted, they were not under observation for any criminal activity. If the cops had been checking more often and the sisters complained, you would be posting that the cops were too intrusive, were not respecting their privacy, and should keep their noses out of everyone's business.
You can't just go into someones house without cause. Even if a concerned neighbor calls the police to check on them. They prb finally went in after getting a smell of decomp.
Stop being so negative.
Not so much.
Being an Identical Twin, I can understand the love for one another, We both live very normal lives, unlike these two, but we both feel a very close connection with eachother, almost like one can feel the others pain. strange stuff
Same here, Jonboy007, I'm an identical twin. We had our own language when toddlers. We have a psychic connection to this day. I know when she's in trouble, or hurting, she knows same of me. We have purchased the same item in two different cities, fairly close in time frame. She didn't have labor pains when she had her twins, but I sure had the pain for her, and she was in northern Calif. and I was in central Calilfornia. It's uncanny.
There are a lot of reports out there of twins that don't survive without the other. If one passes, it will be a short time later, if not hours, that the other will pass. I know there's a twin organization out there, but don't know if they do any investigating on why this happens. I know sister and I have completed twin testing (not done together, but in our respective cities) for this organization. I'd like to know what they know.
Jonboy - Being a twin myself I know exactly what you are saying. No one else can understand or knows the bond between twins - it's almost like being part of a whole. You have your own best friend, someone you can always depend on and someone who is always there. My twin and I were always close - shared friends, experiences, places, etc. growing up. We each married, stayed in the same city - even had children around the same time. Our doctor once told us our children were more like half-brothers and sisters - their only difference was their fathers! When I lost my twin I felt like a part of me died, too. I sometimes think this is hard on her/my children, too - knowing one is gone and one remains.
These women were very close - close to a point of being abnormal. There are many missing points in this article. For example, they list just a few years of work experience for each them - hardly enough income to live all these years in seclusion. Where are all of their co-workers? Surely someone knows more about these women and the missing pieces in their lives. If their parents and brother died, newspapers would have obituaries on them - surely a library or some organization could run a check. Some information might be available through them that could be helpful understanding their situation. It's hard to imagine having jobs outside of their home and not interacting with other people more - hopefully more people will come forward to make more sense of this story and of their lives.
Patricia I was a RN for 29 years and identical twins actually have the same DNA which basically means that they are the same person. As they age they may have different friends and likes but it doesn't seem that they ever get too far from each other thus the two of you both live in California, instead of 1 you living there and the other in Florida. I really use to love the study of identical twins...it is always fasinating to me. Consider your self special to have such a great bond with yourself because that's who your twin is....all I know about identical twins is that they come from the same egg and it splits and with frateral twins there are 2 eggs that get fertilized on conception....
I had business classes at Lake Tahoe Community College and worked with Joan back in the in the early nineties. I had lunch several times with the twins. Yes, they were very close and always dressed alike, but they were very nice ladies. I'm happy that family members were located.
Says you. Who told you that you that they are not normal because they chose to not get involved in the local community?
I've known several set of twins in my life an most of them seemed to travel to ther own beat
The police can't be expected to check on people every day, and it's possible that "several weeks" could as little as two weeks. Checking in on someone that reclusive every two weeks doesn't seem that out of the question to me. Lay off the cops, Tommy.
This twins telepathy stuff seems like a load of b.s. to me. Clearly it was an assault of some sort. The window was open, it said.
"Clearly this was an assault of some sort." Really? Did I miss the part of this article that said there were indications of a struggle, that either woman was physically injured, that the house appeared to have been broken into and/or ransacked? That's not even twisting facts, that's just making up your own story as you go along. There are numerous documented cases of twins feeling each other's physical pain, as well as cases of long-married elderly people passing away "for no reason" shortly after the death of a spouse. Just because you can't explain something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
I just felt like getting someone riled up---and heather, it seems like you took the bait. Thank you. LOL
I think the Olsen twins had something to do with this myself!
Unless you are a twin, Randy, don't discount the telepathy stuff. When my twin died he was two states away and I knew he was gone before the phone rang.
My aunts were identical twins..........believe me they do have telepathy, go to the phone before it rings knowing it is the other one calling, finishing each others sentences. Always thought it weird that one died and the other one died a few years later on the same date. There is a something special between identical twins.
Good job Randy...LOL
My brother-in-law is a fraternal twin and he said that when his twin got sick, he knew it even before he got a phone call. He was living in California at the time while his twin was living in Texas. Twins have a connection that us non twins will never fully understand. It's normal for them.
One of my neighbors was an identical twin. He died exactly one week after his brother, from a different cause than the one that took the first twin. It really is strange but true that twins and multiples do share much more than looks or even genetics at times.
I don't know. My boyfriend and his twin brother have absolutely nothing in common. They shared a womb and were playmates when they were little, but that's it. Once they hit adolescence they pretty much went their own ways. Different lives, freinds, outlooks, personalities, etc. and no "connections" to speak of. They don't even particularly like each other. Most people would never identify them as brothers, let alone twins! Although they are fraternal, not identical. I don't know if not being from the same egg makes a difference.
5of6: There is a HUGE difference between identical and fraternal. Fraternal means you are no more alike than other typical siblings, as they are made from two different eggs and two different sperm. Identical (monozygotic) twins are a completely different story, exactly the same in every way genetically because just the one egg divides. It truly is a fascinating subject if you ever care to look into it, I studied it in psychology and was amazed (for instance, in many studies conducted, two identical twins adopted by different families and raised in different environments from the other, are still very similar to each other and have almost exact IQs).
i see a couple of hotties
Back in the 1950's...
This is a creepy story. They seemed creepy as well. But I bet they were happy.
Its sad regardless if they were happy or not. Human interaction is what life is all about and they chose to seclude themselves. Something was up.
There are people who are introverts and don't like being around people, or rather, want to stay out of the spotlight. We are happy to sit in the background and observe life. We don't need to socialize on a grand scale with anyone. A good book is all it takes to make us happy. Don't call us weirdos, we're not, we just like our privacy and peace. How would you like it if we called you weird because you can't stand being alone and need people to make you happy? Enjoy who you are and leave the rest of us alone (as we prefer).
Nothing is "up" just because two people enjoyed the companionship of each other and had no need for other friends or family.
Deb_Love thank you for speaking up. I am a recluse and I am very comfortable with me, myself, and I. My two dogs are my constant and only companions. While I have children and grandchildren they are aware I prefer to be left alone. I stay in contact via phone and email, but prefer my own company. I live in a large city, but am currently looking for a place to live in the country. The noise of the city and the intrusion of strangers ringing my doorbell has caused me to want to be more away from and insulated from people. I am not a weirdo or wacko. I just like my privacy and like to be left alone.
Realist, I am glad you accept who you are. But I can't help but feel sorry for your children and grandkids. Someone is missing from their lives and that is you.
Let_it_be - you don't know anything about Realist's family, so it's really presumptuous of you to feel sorry for them. I'm sure that Realist's family loves and accepts him/her as he/she is. Realist has obviously raised kids to adulthood & stays in contact with them, who are you to decide how much actual face time is needed?
I'm the mother of two young adults and I'm an introvert myself. I find it extremely stressful to be around large groups of people whether known or unknown, or even just one or two strangers. I find that being forced into these situations doesn't help me, it just makes me withdraw even more. When my kids were young I did the birthday parties, the school activities, the family get-togethers when it was required, but that doesn't mean that I have to continue to devote the rest of my free time to them. It's time for them to live their lives, and for me to live mine.
Why do non-introverts always pity & try to change the introverted? Leave us alone, we like the way we are, our family and true friends accept us the way we are, so mind your own business.
Not to mention that one of the most dangerous things to be in this country - or the world - is female. And older females are targeted by every manner of con artist and predator. Girls learn early in life that there's safety in numbers. These two sisters were lucky to have had each other and what seems like good jobs, a nice home and pretty swell life.
I have to agree with the comment above about the "regular" checks by the police yet the bodies had been there for a few weeks? Shame on that police department for sweeping that little fact to the side.. Glad to see that some family was found..
Actually, it's pretty standard that routine checks are only once a month. I see nothing abnormal about this. Now, had the police not gone back and forced their way in the next day, I would be concerned.
mssuzieq - if the police were checking every week, you would be the first to complain about the waste of taxpayers dollars and that the police should be out solving crimes rather than checking on old ladies. Besides, the article stated that the time of death has not yet been established. A "few weeks" could be two or six. The quantity was not specified.
Just because they didn't feel the need to engage in conversation with their neighbors or involve everyone else in their business does not make them wierdos! I think it's beautiful that these sisters had obviously so much love for one another that they needed no one else in their lives to "complete them". May they rest in peace together forever for all eternity :)
I feel they were mentally ill, shunning society?
It is a little odd. To each their own though. But I think people are meant to be around people. You gain knowledge, experience etc from others.
glenndala, really? Society is so wonderful you can't imagine why someone would want to shun it? I had a friend who used to say that people are not nice animals, and every year I understand more and more what he meant. Yes, there are wonderful, nice people; but there is also a lot of evil out there.
I agree with glanndala. These twins fit the definition of "schizoid" or schizotypal" personalities. Words like "wacko" are just cruel.
There are people who are more than two standard deviations out from the bell curve of normal functioning. Some are extreme extroverts. At the other end of the spectrum are people like these twins.
Saggi, interaction engenders problems and risk. Most of us take that risk because we find the company of others satisfying.
Good for you, Let_it_be, but why do you have to look down on people that don't feel the same way. I find your remarks incredibly condescending. Go out and mingle all you want, and stop trying to change others.
I suspect twin-cest.
ROTFLMAO at ralph-856838's comment
Ralph .......you are weird
lulu65
as is Jennafire
I don't think it's creepy or unusual for them to develop a romantic connection. They reportedly were not interested in dating anybody else.
And they had to live reclusive lives because the people would consider it "creepy" if they discovered their secret life. That how it could have been; they haven't hurt anybody, and nobody should judge them.
If they were such identical twins-I wonder if "agoraphobia" is shared between the two. Could be the reason that they were such recluses. Agoraphobia can be late onset also. Could be only one twin suffered from it and the other sympathized. I dont see "creepy""twin-cest""weird". I see two lovely sisters that shared their life together and obviously their deaths. That is somehow "cool" if you ask me.
This whole Forum is going nowhere or maybe to hell in a hand basket... I don't see any reason to try to figure out what happened... it doesn't matter now... maybe they wanted to be left alone.. so that's where I am going... Nothing we can do now... Life after 70 is no Bowl of Cherries either. With the way the world is behaving now, it gets pretty hard to want to make very many good plans..
I'm still P'd off at the way the FCC has allowed Rush Limbaugh to spew his Venom on the Air Waves all over women and poor people too.. That's the crap that prevents older people from wanting to make any future plans for their happiness.. wonder what would happen to me if I said those things to anyone especially on Air...
i cant blame them one bit for being reclusive.the more people i interact with,the more reclusive i want to be !
Great comment
no sh!t spice...
@spiceman & JerseyGirl..........and the more I love my dogs and cat. They are not judgemental, or critical, they don't gossip, and they don't care if I look like crap. Give me a good book or a good movie, my animal friends, and some good food and I am good alone.
I'm with you guys. I know how to be sociable but I choose not to be most of the time. In my neighborhood, all my neighbors can talk about is their ailments. Not my cup of tea. A good book (Kindle) and a cup of joe and I'm happy.
I second that......
I enjoy being by myself. I don't talk with family all that much anymore after my parents deaths. I live in the country, have three cats and enjoy scenic photography. I hate the city, noise and crowds so I'm a weirdo?
I agree with you guys. I have dogs and cats and an aquarium. I work with people all day and prefer my time off with my four pawed friends. I used to love to go out and be around a lot of people. Not so much anymore.
Obviously, it wasn't impossible.
If the police had done their job, they would have found the relatives. It's not rocket science.
Um, they did find them. With the public's help. What's the problem?
The public found them then told the cops about it.
All the cops did was take the statement and part of the credit.
There are no true detectives that work for the police although they do have some good listeners and note takers.
Their story sounds like the making of an interesting film. Something a la Grey Gardens, perhaps?
emily - i agree. and i'm sure it will be made into a movie in the not too distant future.
It's a sad story. You may make light of it but that might just be your defense mechanism to show your true feelings. No one should make light of a death and this one is doubly tragic
Death is not tragic is a situation like this. Death happens. its life. They were old and they died, they were not tortured. everyone I know including myself, wants their death to 'be made light of' They dont want a dreary sad funeral but instead one filled with jokes and laughs. I doubt these sisters are looking down (or up) at us thinking 'eff you guys for 'making light' of this'.
This story is just so sad... I'm sure the other twin passed of a broken heart.
They were not hermets they had jobs and retired.
But since neither of them found anyone to their liking they saw no reason why they shouldn't live together.
Thats what families are for, Love and understanding.
R.I.P. Ladies
Lord Bless and Keep these ladies on their next journey. I am glad that they were able to find some family....
It's human interaction that keeps you going through this life. At least it is for me. I strongly feel that one sister died of natural causes and the other was so closely connected with her that she died from heart failure or ended her life by other means. Being that they had pretty much withdrawn from society, then all they had was each other. I know of a married couple whom had been together when the girl was 16 and the man 18. The woman died at age 81 and the man died the very next day. Both from natural causes. His world was her for 65 years and he couldn't go on without her. I imagine something similar with the twins.
I like the fact that you did not try and speak for everyone,we should all do that more often,including myself.
Stopped sending birthday cards to a friend about a year ago......huh??? How many times a year do you send someone a birthday card?
This was exactly what I was wondering!
"Judge not least you be judged," In todays society who is to say what is weird, creepy, crazy or otherwise. These two beautiful women knew they could trust each other. They knew together they could handle anything that came there way and no one could hurt them. You knew nothinng about them or what happened to them, no one does but as long as they had each other, I bet they were happy. I suspect the window was open b/c the remaining twin knew she couldn't go on when the other twin died. Maybe the house had begun to smell after a death and the other one just wanted to air out a bit and then the final twin died of a broken heart. Isn't it just like our current society to think the worse of something, someone they don't know anything about? Shame on US!
There was nothing odd, strange or even unusual about these women. There are millions of people, especially those past retirement age, who live in near to total isolation. It's easy to become isolated and difficult to avoid. The family you had, the people you knew move away, die, your mobility decreases, your available funds grow a little less every year. It is just a fact of life. The older you get, the more isolated you become. No sour grapes here, just the simple truth.
I think you are quite right. Nothing unusual about elderly folks living in isolation at all.
Interesting name you have. I can remember my grandmother speaking in broken German, saying nein, nein when conversing with others to makes a point, or just telling us grand kids "NO" for the second or more time. Brings back memories...........
Yes, as a 90-year-old friend of mine once said, "Most of my friends are dead. That's what happens if you live long enough."
You hit it spot on. I am 76, don't drive now and limited income so my interaction with others is trips to market once a week on a bus that pick me up and trips to the VA Clinic on a DAV van. I don't have someone in my ear all the time complaining and gossiping about other. Those who think it is abnormal to not be bearing my every thought to someone, don't know what they are talking about. IT is a lot of salesmanship of the together with a village thing. I was taught as a child that people can be different and still quite happy. I went to college,married,had two children who live at a distance, divorced and am quite happy to live my days alone. I did lots of charity work, but quietly and never in the spot light. I became sort of jaded about the spotlight grabber always needing someone stroking them for their every deedsI find it very nice to just quietly go about my life and do some good when I can for someone and they never know who I am. Some people need people around 24/7 to make them happy, I don't. I am not grumpy, or horror to people, I am well read and keep up on the latest about the world around me and I enjoy a little chat once in a while, but group hugs, linking arms and sing song is not for me. these twins did their thing without a twenty piece band everyday so let it rest, it is not strange in the least. Peace brother.
Why call it isolation? Doesnt that have a negative undertone? Those ladies were smart!!
I lived on an island in the middle of a lake once,you could only get there by boat,i would leave my car in the parking area after work and take my boat to my small cabin. I loved it and stayed there for 3 years till the owner of the property died and I was forced to move. I would not trade those years for anything.
I have never seen such darkness like night time on that Island and have never again heard how quiet and peaceful things can be, you could hear your own heart beating if you listened.