Tod Overdorf, a longtime antiques dealer and collector, died peacefully at his home on May 10, 2007, after a long illness. Born in 1931 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., he graduated from Rider University and then served in the army.

Tod and his first wife, Carol, started an antiques business in the late 1960s with a general line but with a leaning toward early American country and military. They participated in many outdoor shows and flea markets and were honored to be asked to do the Hartford Armory Show when they were relatively newcomers to the business at that time. Tod and Carol had two children, Scott and Cindy, who traveled with them to all the shows.

Tod continued in the antiques business with his second wife, Judy, doing about 32 shows a year in the mid and late 1970s and into the 1980s. During the week Tod worked as the sales manager of the billboard company, Highway Displays in Poughkeepsie, and then on weekends he and Judy would be found prowling the shows and flea markets in the wee hours of the morning, hunting for bargains to sell or collect for their Eighteenth Century home that they restored in Milton, N.Y.

Some of the shows they participated in included the Hartford Armory Show, Salisbury, Chatham, Dorset, Kinderhook, Concord, Danbury, Brimfield and many others. After giving up many of the outdoor shows, they could still be found at the Rhinebeck Antiques Fair. After retiring to Colorado and opening a shop there, Tod and Judy often traveled back to exhibit at Rhinebeck.

Tod and Judy specialized in early American country and Civil War, but with eclectic tastes so you never knew what you would find in their booth. Tod always thought if he found it interesting, then someone else would, too. He also never cared where the promoter put his booth †he figured, “If someone was looking for our kind of stuff, they’d find us.”

Tod was known for his pranks, his great sense of humor and funny stories. He liked to be thought of as “just a country boy” but loved sharing his knowledge with other interested dealers and collectors.

He is survived by his wife Judy, his son Scott of Jamestown, Colo., his daughter Cindy Cranney of Reston, Va., and his grandchildren Celie and Will.

There will be a “Celebration of Life” memorial party for him in Cedaredge, Colo., in June. Contributions in his memory can be sent to Surface Creek Valley Historical Society or SCVHS for Pioneer Town, PO Box 906, Cedaredge CO 81413. Future plans for a memorial event for him in New York are undetermined at this time.