Charles was born on February 21, 1957 in Atlanta, GA, the son of Charles and Cordelia (Mathis) McPherson Sr. He graduated from Northside High School in Atlanta. Following high school, Charles received a football scholarship from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a punter and graduated with a bachelor's degree in social studies. Charles worked for Delta Airlines in Atlanta and Kraft Foods in Beaver Dam. He was united in marriage to Amy Hartman on October 16, 1982 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Juneau, WI. Charles was a sports fanatic, with a passion for basketball and football, and accumulated a wealth of sports trivia knowledge over the years. Traveling with his family to Europe and Mexico always brought him a tremendous amount of joy.

Charles will be deeply missed by his wife, Amy McPherson of Beaver Dam; his children, Sgt. Charles (Sabrina) McPherson III of Watertown, NY and Tiffany (Jesse Perrote) McPherson of LaCrosse, WI; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Luke Hartman, Linda (Michael) Hoban, Matthew Hartman, Rebecca (Thomas) Kubat, Eva (Tom) Ptaschinski, Steve (Susan) Hartman and Kate (Dwayne) Emory; and further survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.