He was born in San Antonio on February 13, 1941, to Floyd and Marijane McGraw.
He earned his B.S. at SMU, and did graduate studies at Texas A&M.
After retiring from the Air Force he worked at Handy Dan, America's Favorite Chicken, and IBM, and had a long and successful career in computer programming.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his stepfather, James Curtis Koonce.
He is survived by a son, Charles, and wife Kate; and a grandson, Charles James McGraw, Jr.