	His last building appears to be a small speculative house venture in 1941, and though he briefly assisted with an extension to the Ladies` Gallery at the St Kilda Synagogue in 1957–1958, he appears to have lived out a quiet retirement before his death at his home in Toorak on 28 May 1977 aged 93. His wife Rachel Henrietta Plottel had died in Toorak two years previously on 2 January 1975, aged 88. Joseph's parents' names were given as Philip Plottel and Sarah Hyams, while Rachel Henrietta Plottel's Parents' names were given as Maurice Gross and Celine Isaacson.