Laura Rinehart Thanscheidt and Lisa Rinehart Romines remember the fight vividly. At age 4, the two had a knockdown, drag-out spat in the family garden. The point of contention: just a sweatshirt.
“We just started fighting over it, which made no real sense, considering we both had a matching one. But our mom just said, ‘Have it out,’ and we settled it,” remembers Laura. “After that, no more fighting.”
From that point forward, twins Laura and Lisa weren’t just almost indistinguishable. They also were inseparable.
They joined the Purcell cheerleading squad together. They played basketball and tennis. They even enjoyed the same hobbies, including piano lessons and singing duets at church.
“Everything we did, we did together,” says Laura.
After high school, they relocated from their country home west of Purcell to attend Rose State College together and shared an apartment. It was only a matter of time until they shared a work address, too.
Now the twins have been making OMRF employees do double takes for three decades. Laura started working at OMRF in 1985, and Lisa followed two years later.
Lisa has been in Accounting since she joined the foundation. Laura currently works in Purchasing, but she’s also had positions in Memorials and Accounting. As you might guess, her presence in Accounting caused some double takes.
“People would get so confused, especially if I wore my glasses,” says Laura.
Lisa remembers a Halloween when, dressed as twins, the two traded places as a joke. “I went to Purchasing and Laura went to Accounting,” she says. “We thought we had everyone fooled, but Louretta Parker knew instantly.”
When Laura married OMRF coworker Ross Thanscheidt five years ago, she got two step-daughters in the process: Lisa and Laura. Oh, and the twins’ brother married another Lisa, and she now has Lisa’s maiden name. You almost need an OMRF scientist to come up with a diagram to keep it straight.
In addition to doting on daughters Ashley (Laura) and Brittany (Lisa), the two share a love for OU, the Thunder (Russell Westbrook signed his contract extension on their birthday last year) and, especially, Elvis Presley.
“Elvis is a significant one for us,” says Lisa, breaking for a sip of coffee from a mug that bears a likeness of the King of Rock ‘n Roll. “We got to see him live when we were just 7 years old, and our dad used to bring home his albums when we were kids.”
“Our first trip together was to Memphis to see Graceland,” says Laura.
But surely there’s a downside to sharing so much of their lives?
“There’s nothing about it we don’t like. We feel blessed,” says Lisa.
In fact, says Laura, “Our least favorite part is that we still don’t get to spend as much time together as we want.”
