He held this position in various supervisory and management bodies of the Thyssen Group.
Among other things, he was a founding board member of the Mülheim Mining Association from 1898.
In 1900 he moved with his family to his newly built Villa Josef Thyssen by the River Ruhr.
The couple had three children: Julius (1881–1946), Johanna (1883–1887) and Hans (1890–1943).
In 1915 Joseph Thyssen died at the plant in Mülheim an der Ruhr, having fallen between two rail car buffers during an evening patrol.