After school and university, Ferber worked as a freelance architect in Soest. Ferber built several churches in the Westphalian region. In the meantime he was city councilor in Soest from 1914 to 1921. His wife Maria died on January 16, 1947. Four years later, Josef Ferber died at the age of 76.
Heinrich Otten: Josef Ferber from Soest (1874–1951). A Westphalian church architect. In: Soester Zeitschrift ( ISSN 0176-3946 ), No. 121 (2009), pp. 181-208.