Draft:Paul and Kris Scharoun-Deforge



Paul and Kris Scharoun-Deforge were one of the longest married couples with Down syndrome. They were married from 1993 to 2019.

The couple met in 1988 at a dance for the disabled and dated until their marriage. Kris proposed to Paul in 1993 and they married on August 13,1993. To wed, they had to prove to New York their sexual knowledge and knowledge about marriage because of their intellectual challenges. The couple lived at a group home due to their condition.

Paul Deforge was born in 1963 and died on March 28, 2019 from Alzheimer's disease. When he was born, his parents were told to put him in a nursing home, a common practice for people with Down syndrome, but his parents refused.