Father Joseph was born on the 27th of June, 1910 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Cleyton Woods. He attended St. Francis Xavier College in Brooklyn and was graduated from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1932 he entered the novitiate at Fort Augustus Abbey in Scotland and returned to the United States and the then Portsmouth Priory in 1936. In June 1937 he was ordained a priest by Bishop Francis P. Keough.
He taught at the Priory School and served as Director of Dramatics. From 1945 his health took a turn which required fairly constant medical attention and, after a period of work in California, he took up duties as a parish priest in the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, in order to be near the Duke University School of Medicine where he was an outpatient. From that time he was active in the liturgical apostolate, and the Catholic Biblical Association, and worked as pastor of churches in the area of Raleigh. In 1972 Father Joseph completed his studies for a Master’s degree in theology, and was invited by the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, to serve on its Liturgical Commission. He took up these duties and served as pastor of St. Ann’s Church in Bellevue, Michigan until a stroke forced him to give up active work. He returned to Portsmouth in April of 1974, and served as a chaplain to St. Philomena’s Convent in Portsmouth until his death on the 16th of January.