Funeral Details

Dr. Alfred Soffer

May 5, 1922 - November 19, 2025

SERVICE INFORMATION

Date and Time

Friday, November 21, 2025 at 10:00 AM

Service

Chicago Jewish Funerals
Skokie Chapel
8851 Skokie Boulevard
Skokie, Illinois 60077
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Clergy

Rabbi Nate Crane
Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah

Interment

Westlawn Cemetery
7801 West Montrose Avenue
Norridge, Illinois 60706
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Shiva

Soffer Residence
899 Valley Road
Glencoe, Illinois 60022
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Upon return from cemetery until Shabbat.
Saturday from 6PM to 9PM
Minyan 7:30PM
Sunday from 3PM to 6PM
Minyan 4:30PM

Memorial Contributions

Solomon Schechter Day School
3210 Dundee Road
Northbrook, Illinois 60062
www.schechter.org
or
The charity of your choice




OBITUARY

Dr. Alfred Soffer, 103, beloved husband to the late Isabel Soffer for 67 years. Beloved father to Jonathan (Margaret) Soffer, Joshua, and Gil (Becky) Soffer. Loving grandfather to Talia (Daniel), Jacob, Gabriela, and Mia Soffer.

Dr. Soffer led a long and consequential life. After attending the University of Wisconsin for college and medical school, and serving as a captain in the army during World War II, Dr. Soffer practiced cardiology and internal medicine for years in Rochester, NY, where he met and married Isabel. In 1963 they moved to Chicago, where Dr. Soffer became Executive Director of the American College of Chest Physicians, a position he held for nearly 25 years. He also served as editor-in-chief of Chest Magazine, founded Heart and Lung magazine, and was an editor for the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Even as he rose to the heights of his profession — becoming a Master Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, and earning the distinction of Giant in Chest Medicine — Dr. Soffer left a mark far beyond his career. He was an authority on Jewish medical ethics and the works of Maimonides, and lectured extensively on both subjects. He was a founding president of Solomon Schechter Day School in Northbrook, Illinois; served as Chief Medical Scientist for the State of Israel in 1973-1974; and, accompanied by an armed guard, visited Gaza during the Yom Kippur War to teach local physicians cardiology and internal medicine. Dr. Soffer was also an avid fisherman, skilled golfer, and nationally ranked tennis player who competed well into his 80s.

Dr. Soffer’s legacy includes children, grandchildren, friends and former colleagues who were touched by his life and inspired by his deeds.

Service Friday 10 AM at Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd (at Niles Center Road), Skokie. Interment Westlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Solomon Schechter Day School, 3210 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062, www.schechter.org or the charity of your choice. To attend the funeral live stream, please visit our website. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com


GUEST BOOK

We encourage you to share your personal condolences and stories of Dr. Alfred Soffer below and we will share them with the family.
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He was very supportive and loved Gil to the end of the earth.

Mark Flessner
November 21, 2025
I was unable to attend the funeral in person, but was able to be part of the event via the livestream. Gil, Jonathan and Josh, your love for your dad was so evident in the comments you shared. It was very heartwarming. You clearly and lovingly communicated what made your dad tick. He would have loved everything you shared.

Uncle Al was an absolutely extraordinary man in so many ways! He channeled his brilliance in ways that helped people through medical endeavors, religious undertakings and epitomizing health and quality longevity.

May his memory be a blessing.

Nancy Soffer Chontos
November 21, 2025
One day, Dr. Soffer called me. I don't know how he found me and what I was doing. He was instrumental in identifying me and helping me begin my academic professional career.
He asked me to write an editorial in CHEST about the possibility and value of home care for patients who depended on long -term care requiring medical ventilation. He also encouraged me to join CHEST for advancement of my academic growth and possibility for academic leadership. I didn't understand how home care could fit into the categories of the diversity of membership at CHEST. He responded by creating a new category: OTHER. That opened the door to my future academic advancement and progress in home care.

I just attended CHEST 2025.with many past-presidents, leaders, and members of CHEST. Many told me how he advanced and mentored their careers and changed their lives.

Dr. Soffer was a blessing to all of us who had the opportunity the know and love him.

Allen Goldberg
November 22, 2025
I hope my relationship with my own children inspires them and fills them with as much love as Gil obviously has for his father. I hope to remain a vital part of my children's lives in the same fashion. Gil, your love for, and friendship with, your dad is an inspiration.
-Greg

Greg White
November 22, 2025