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Joseph Edward Gandy was born in Spokane, Washington October 9, 1904. His father was Spokane pioneer, Lloyd Edward Gandy. Joseph Gandy was raised in Spokane, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1926 and graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1929. In 1937 he married Laurene Tatlow.

Following law school, Gandy settled in Seattle and practiced law. During World War II he served as chief deputy regional director of the War Production Board for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. In 1946 he founded the partnership of Smith Gandy Inc., a Ford automobile dealership. In addtion, Gandy maintained a law practice throughout his career.

In 1959 Joseph Gandy took a leave of absence from Smith Gandy to serve as President of Century 21 Exposition Inc., the non-profit corporation that was formed in 1957 to run the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. Planning for the Fair had been underway since 1955, when the Washington World's Fair Commission, chaired by Edward Carlson, began to meet. Gandy, who had been a member of the corporation from the start, took over from Carlson the job of chief statesman for the Fair. The first task he undertook was to win recognition for the Fair from the Bureau of International Expositions. Others before Gandy had attempted but failed. Gandy, recognizing that the Fair needed sanctioning in order to be a World's Fair and get foreign participation, made an all-out effort to persuade the Bureau. He visited Paris twice in 1960 to meet the representatives of the Bureau and did everything possible to satisfy their requirements, including shortening the duration of the Fair to six months. When he learned of the Bureau's concerns about potential labor problems, Gandy went to Paris with letters of support and no-strike assurances from the King County Labor Council and the Seattle Construction and Trades Council. On May 5, 1960 the Bureau granted tentative approval to the Seattle World's Fair.

Having achieved world recognition, Gandy returned to Europe again with William W. Phillips, the Fair's European representative, to sign up exhibitors. He also visited Latin America and Africa. Gandy signed up many nations, but some exhibitors backed out after signing. The Common Market nations, together with the members of Euratom and the Coal and Steel Community, had agreed to mount an exhibit, but a few weeks before opening the Fair rumors reached Gandy that they were going to pull out. He immediately flew to Europe, met with EEC leaders in Brussels and convinced them to reinstate their exhibit. Gandy was also personally responsible for persuading Ford Motor Company to build a pavilion at the Fair. Ford had repeatedly declined offers to exhibit, but Gandy, refusing to take no for an answer, drew upon his standing as a Ford dealer to persuade them. Among Gandy's other duties as President was hosting the succession of celebrities who visited the Fair throughout its run.

Joseph Gandy helped pilot the first American world's fair since World War II to its successful conclusion. Though Century 21 was not on a scale with the world's largest expositions, it was impressive and was often described as a "jewel box" of a fair. When the Fair opened on April 21, 1962 its exhibits were complete. No previous world's fair had come so close to being ready on time. Century 21 exceeded expectations for attendance and when it closed, it was the first to finish with a profit. After the Fair, in 1963, Gandy and his family went on a world tour of 30 countries to personally thank them for their participation.

The other civic project for which Joseph Gandy was best known is the King County Stadium. The idea of a municipal domed stadium had been discussed as early as 1957, but the first stadium bond proposal was rejected by voters in a 1962 election. In 1966 Gandy led the second campaign for a stadium bond issue as chairman of King County Citizens for All-Purpose Stadium Now. Gandy argued that "The value of a domed all-purpose stadium to Seattle and King County will far exceed that of the World's Fair." On January 20, 1966 Gandy was also designated by the governor, the mayor of Seattle, the chairman of the King County Commission and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce to represent the state, county and city in discussions with the National Football League to obtain a football franchise. With assurances of an NFL franchise and hopes for a major league baseball team contingent on a stadium, the second bond issue narrowly failed passage on September 21, 1966.

Stadium proponents were not discouraged by the narrow defeat. In 1967 the Legislature passed enabling legislation authorizing King County to defer 2% of its hotel sales tax for the purpose of retiring stadium bonds and created a Stadium Commission to select a location for the stadium. Also in 1967, The American League voted to grant Seattle an expansion franchise contingent on the city being able to provide suitable stadium facilities. The stadium bond issue became part of the monumental Forward Thrust proposal which, on February 13, 1968, received approval from the required majority of voters.

In 1968 Joseph Gandy was appointed to head the Washington Stadium Commission and entered what was to be a controversial and prolonged site selection process. The selection of the stadium site seemed to be settled in 1968 when a research team, followed by the Stadium Commission, chose the Seattle Center site. After Gandy and the other Stadium Commissioners resigned in 1969, Frank Ruano launched a drive to submit the Seattle Center site to a vote. It was rejected by voters on May 17, 1970. Subsequently, a new Commission chose the King Street site and work on the Kingdome began near the end of 1971.

Gandy was President of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce from 1956-57. From 1957-59 he represented the Chamber of Commerce in its negotiation with the Jackson Hole Preserve in an effort to secure support for hotel accommodations at a high level in Mt. Rainier National Park. This effort was prompted by Mission 66, a National Park Service Plan for Mt. Rainier National Park introduced in 1956. The Jackson Hole Preserve Inc., an organization created by Laurence S. Rockefeller, conducted a study in 1959 of the need for a hotel in the park.

In 1960 Gandy served on the executive committee of the U.S.-Japan Centennial Royal Visit Committee. The Committee made preparations for the visit to Seattle by Japanese Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko.

In 1964 Joseph Gandy entered the race for the Republican nomination for governor. He campaigned actively for a few months, then dropped out of the race in July.

Joseph Gandy served in numerous civic organizations and headed many of them. He died of a heart attack in June 13, 1971.