Rachel Thomas, 77, Bradenton, died June 6, 2003. She was born Nov. 21, 1925, in Wakulla County and came to Manatee County in the 1940s. She was a homemaker. She was a Baptist. Survivors include daughters Alice Johnson and Laverne Water, both of Palmetto, and Jackie Patterson and Joyce Brooks, both of Bradenton, and Rosa Ann Dorsey of Kissimmee; sons Jerry Gavin of Bradenton and Wilbert Jr., Merris and Paul, all of Palmetto; a stepson, Ricky of San Antonio, Texas; sisters Delores Holloway of Palmetto and Mary Rentz of Live Oak; brothers Earnest Gavin of Bradenton and Charles Gavin of Palmetto; 44 grandchildren; and 38 great- grandchildren. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Westside Funeral Home in Palmetto. The service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Pentecostal of Faith Church in Palmetto. Burial will be in Mansion Memorial Park in Ellenton.