Born on the South Side in 1905, James J. Ferry was the only child of Margaret Lavelle Ferry and James H. Ferry, both Irish immigrants.  Jim left Duquesne Prep School at the age of 17, when his father died suddenly.  He went to work in the J&L mill to support his mother and two other children his parents were raising.  There he learned to be an electrician.  In 1926, at the age of 21, he started his own electrical contracting firm, Ferry Electric Company.

With his wife Edna Reiber Ferry, Jim raised a family including James R, Jean (Comber) and Janet (Thomas Palumbo). Each of whom went on to raise families of their own.

Jim Ferry spent his entire professional life committed to the electrical contracting industry.  His peers and union leaders, with whom he worked, elected him for many decades as a Trustee of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #5 Pension and Health Insurance Plans and as a member of the Labor Negotiating Committee for all union electrical contractors in Western Pennsylvania.  He was past President of the Electric League of Western Pennsylvania and was selected as its first Man Of The Year in 1978.  He was also a past member of the board of directors of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the Pittsburgh Builders Exchange, and was an early member of the Home Builders Association.  In 1969 he was elected to the Academy of Electrical Contracting, honoring the nation's foremost electrical contractors.

Jim served his community as a director on many boards.  These included Elizabeth Seton High School, Lyman Savings & Loan Association, Three Rivers Bank and Trust Company, Rosalia Maternity Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital, Jefferson Health Systems and Robert Morris College.  In 1994 he received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Robert Morris College for his history as the longest serving Trustee, of known record, for any Institute of higher learning in the country.  He also received the Duquesne University McAnulty Service Award, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Joan B. Rodman M.D. Memorial Award for outstanding overall dedication in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis.   He was a member of the Duquesne Society of Duquesne University and the Century Club of Distinguished Duquesne Alumni, South Hills Country Club, Seven Springs Club, the Press Club of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Club.

An avid football fan, he was the longest continuous season ticket holder of record for the Pittsburgh Steelers football club.  His support dated back prior to 1933 when the football club was first formed as the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Active in the Pittsburgh Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, he served for many years on the Bishop's Advisory Council, the Catholic Institute of Pittsburgh, the boards of the Catholic Youth Association and Catholic Social Services.  Jim was actively involved with the former Toner Institute For Boys and the DePaul Institute for the Sensory Handicapped.  He was past President of the Pittsburgh Serra Club and was founder of the Mission Dinner to support the Pittsburgh Catholic Missionaries working in Peru.   His greatest honor came in 1968 when Pope Paul VI named him a Knight of St. Gregory, the highest honor bestowed on a layman in the Catholic Church.  He was an active member of St. Germaine Parish in Bethel Park since its founding and in the forming of St. Germaine Harbor housing for the elderly.