Wilfred Lawrence, 103, chef on passenger train

After he worked more than 40 years as a chef, it was easy for Wilfred A. Lawrence to make any dish -- and make it well.

"He could do about anything -- a turkey, a steak -- anything you gave him, he knew all of the different cuts and you had to be so precise. He could bake, too. The whole nine yards," said his son Rufus , of Mattapan.

Mr. Lawrence, an immigrant from the West Indies island of Nevis who cooked for train passengers starting in the 1930s, died last Tuesday from congestive heart failure at Bostonian Nursing Home in Dorchester. He was 103 .

In 1926, Mr. Lawrence received a package from an uncle living in Boston that would set him on a path to the American dream, his son said. The package contained $50 and warm clothes, and soon after receiving it Mr. Lawrence left for Boston aboard a Canada-bound transport ship. After the eight-day voyage, he took a train from Canada to Boston and reunited with his uncle.

"His mother sent him here to further his education and to find a good job," his son said.

He started working as a dishwasher at a Cambridge restaurant. Using cooking skills he acquired in his native West Indies and at the Cambridge restaurant, Mr. Lawrence worked his way from the sink to the stove and became a chef at the restaurant.

Mr. Lawrence became immersed in the West Indies culture that had started to develop in Boston. At social and cultural gatherings, Mr. Lawrence would play his saxophone. At one such gathering, he met his wife, Rose (James) . They married in 1928 and lived in homes in Roxbury and Dorchester. She died in 1976 .

Mr. Lawrence worked for the former Boston and Albany Railroad as a chef on passenger trains traveling from Boston to Chicago. He retired in 1967 .

However, Mr. Lawrence's passion for cooking didn't stop simmering at his retirement. He worked as a cook at Northeastern University for a couple of years.

During his retirement, Mr. Lawrence enjoyed maintaining his vegetable garden. "Nothing but the freshest [ingredients]. That's what he believed," his son said.

One of Mr. Lawrence's proudest accomplishments was becoming a US citizen.

"He'd salute the flag before he'd eat breakfast," his son said. He was most proud that "he lived long enough to be self sustaining and saw his family become the same way."

Mr. Lawrence was still fond of his heritage and often returned to his homeland, including once in 1951 when he delivered a headstone for his mother's grave.

In addition to his son Rufus, he leaves another, Wilfred Jr., of Boston; a daughter, Isabelle Harleston of Braintree; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild.

A funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today in St. Cyprian Episcopal Church, Roxbury. Burial will be in Forest Hills Cemetery .