Rachel Elaine Colado, 77, of St. Petersburg, FL, went home to be with the Lord Thursday, July 3, 2014. She came to this area in 1947 from her native Tarpon Springs, FL and was a member of the first graduating class at Boca Ciega High School in 1955. Rachel was a telephone operator with the former Peninsular Telephone Company (now Verizon) and moved to Gainesville, FL in 1963 where she was a Dental Assistant for Dr. Gordon Blair. She returned to St. Petersburg in 1973 and worked as a Dental Assistant at the Veterans Administration Medical Center at Bay Pines, FL for 20 years. She was a member of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church and the Living Water Sunday School class. She is survived by a sister, Majel Swartsel of Holiday, FL; a brother, Dennis L. Colado of Hammondsport, NY; nieces and nephews, Mark and Matthew Swartsel, Elaine Hayes, Wendy Avery, Christy Fugo; and several great nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be 11:00 A.M. Saturday, August 9, 2014 at Fifth Avenue Baptist Church 4901-5th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. The family requests memorials to: The Florida Baptist Children's Homes P.O. Box 8190 Lakeland, FL 33802-9963 or Suncoast Hospice 5771 Roosevelt Blvd. Clearwater, FL 33760. $(document).ready(function(){ });