Charles, "The Chief" Krull, was born in Texhoma, OK, on June 19, 1933. He married his wife Maria "Toni" on March 9, 1978. Charles began his college career at Panhandle State University. He received a master's degree from Oklahoma State University and a doctorate in Crop Breeding from Iowa State University. Charles worked for the Rockefeller Foundation in Colombia, Mexico, and the Middle East.

He was fortunate to work on a project called "The Green Revolution," which helped transfer Mexican kinds of wheat and their growing techniques across the globe. The successful program won its director, Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Peace prize in 1970. In 1968, Krull joined DeKalb Ag and worked in Argentina and Italy. He returned to the United States in 1978 and was named vice president of Corn Research, a position he held until 1993. Until his retirement in 2010, Charles served as a consultant with major food crop companies. He had the opportunity to travel and live in various parts of the world throughout his career, but he always said DeKalb was the best and considered it his home.

Charles always found time for the arts, particularly music. He started singing as an undergrad in Oklahoma and continued throughout most of his life. Locally Charles sang with a Barbershop Group, the DeKalb Festival Chorus, and the Westminster Presbyterian Church Choir. He also enjoyed playing the piano, which he did most of his life.

Charles Krull of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away on March 1, 2019, at the age of 85. A Fund was created in his memory at the DeKalb County Community Foundation. The Charles Krull Music Support Fund provides aid to low-income children in DeKalb County who are pursuing music education. It helps students pay for expenses such as musical instrument rental and fees for private music lessons—the ongoing distributions from the Fund fuel Charles' legacy of love and support for the community.