Miriam Soffer

Soffer, Miriam
SLINGERLANDS - Miriam Rose Steinhardt Soffer, age 98, died on April 14, 2025, at her home in Slingerlands. She was the daughter of J. Milton and Evelyn Steinhardt; sister of Frank Steinhardt; and beloved wife of Sanford Soffer; who predeceased her.
An outstanding student, she graduated from The Milne School in 1943 and from Bryn Mawr College in 1947. She received a Masters in Public Health from Yale University in 1949.
A superb editor and writer, she was quickly hired as an editor of Flower Grower magazine in Albany. In her next position, she produced pamphlets for the New York State Department of Health, including a coloring book, Kit Goes the Dentist, distributed to millions of New York school children for more than a decade. In 1955, she began a new job in the first state consumer protection bureau in the United States, in the governor's office under Governor W. Averell Harriman.
After her stint in the governor's office, Miriam became an editor at the New York State Department of Education in the cultural institutions division, which includes the NYS Library, Archives, and Museum. At the Department of Education, she edited NAHO magazine, a publication of the State Museum, and wrote and edited other pamphlets, historical markers, and museum labels for the library and museum. At the same time, she completed several years of interdisciplinary graduate work at SUNY Albany in philosophy and art history. After she retired, she continued to edit the newsletter of the Friends of the New York State Library, and contributed articles to reference books, including the Encyclopedia of the State of New York.
She was married to Albany attorney Sanford Soffer for 59 years, and they deeply loved each other. Both Miriam and Sanford were happiest in each other's company. They had a large circle of friends whom they loved dearly and enjoyed many a dinner party,
Always curious about the world, she and a friend bravely traveled to Europe in 1947 on the first troop ship that was converted to commercial service, and toured in Italy, the UK, France, and the Netherlands when they were still in ruins. When the children were young, these trips to Europe were family trips. Later, she and Sanford traveled all over Europe, including the USSR and Turkey.
Miriam was an avid athlete throughout her life. In her youth, she enjoyed horseback riding, downhill skiing, in the middle of her life, she swam nearly daily, and she played golf well into her nineties. She loved to play games with her grandchildren and was always happy to embark on a full game of Monopoly with the boys. Of late, she made sure to take a walk every day there was no ice on the ground.
She loved sunny spots in her home, and would often be found working, reading or completing crossword puzzles in those sunny nooks. She had a way with flowering plants and was able to keep blooms on a flowering plant for years, caring for the plants and moving the flower pots to the perfect sunny spot. Tulip bulbs she brought back from Holland in the 1940s still bloomed at her home in Albany until she moved in 2016.
Though she loved all flowers, daisies were her favorite. She was always a generous guest – she was always sure to bring a gift to whatever friend's home she visited, be it a babka or flower centerpieces and candles.
Miriam is survived by her son, Jonathan Soffer, his spouse Pamela Allen Brown; her daughter, Melinda Soffer Calianos; and by her grandchildren, Joshua Elias Calianos and Alexander Avery Calianos.
The service will be at Congregation Beth Emeth, 100 Academy Road, Albany, on Thursday, April 17, at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at The Beth Emeth Cemetery in Loudonville.
Those wishing to make donations may send them to Community Hospice of Albany, or to the charity of their choice.
To leave a message of condolence for the family online, please visit LevineMemorialChapel.com