Charles H. Johnson was born on April 14, 1929 in Pittsburgh, PA. He came to Cleveland as a young teenager with his family headed by his parents, Scott Winfield and Willie Agnes (Terrell) Johnson. He attended East Tech High School and graduated in the class of 1947. Art was a passion of his, and at age 18, he won first place in a city-wide art competition with one of his drawings.

After high school, he married the late Gladys Woodford Johnson on June 15, 1949. In that union, they had one daughter, Barbara. Charles and Gladys were married for 61 years until her passing on September 25, 2010.

After high school, Charles also held several jobs at Sears, Telephone Co., Bridgeport Steel, and Dupont, where he was employed for over 25 years until his retirement in 1992.

Charles was a member of A.A. and was proud to have achieved over 25 years of sobriety. He was a mentor to many others in the organization.

Charles was preceded in death by his mother and father; sister, Catherine Robinson; brothers, Scott, Robert and Marvin and nephews, Allen (Lee) Robinson and William “Bill” Robinson. He leaves to cherish his memory his daughter, Barbara; son-in-law, John D. Johnson; sister, Jean Washington; nieces, Linda Robinson, Beverly Douglas, Cheryl Robinson and Deborah Washington and nephew, Kenneth Washington.