[2][3] Soffer began his business career upon graduating from Duquesne High School after which he started to invest in real estate by purchasing single-family homes and small apartment buildings.
[1] During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Corps Transportation Command[2] where he was stationed at Love Field in Texas.
[1] He remained as chairman of the Soffer Organization until his death, which at the time owned 2 million square feet of office, retail and residential property in the Pittsburgh area.
[2] He and his wife established the Violet and Joseph Soffer Foundation and Family Special Olympics at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
[2] Soffer belonged to the older generation of Pittsburgh real estate developers - such as Edward J. Lewis, Jack Buncher, Stanley Gumberg, and Leonard Rudolph - who conducted business with a handshake.