Charles F. Debaugh Sr., a retired Brooks Buick service adviser and noted decoy collector, died in his sleep Sunday at his Baltimore County home. The Phoenix resident was 81.

Mr. Debaugh was born and raised in Towson, where he graduated from high school in 1939.

After attending technical school for a year, he went to work as an auto mechanic for his father, who owned the Debaugh Motors Packard dealership on Pennsylvania Avenue in Towson. After the business closed in 1963, he joined Brooks Buick, also in Towson. He retired in 1981.

A Mason, Mr. Debaugh was a member of Boumi Temple and Mount Moriah Lodge. An avid skeet shooter, he was a member of Loch Raven Skeet and Trap Club.

Mr. Debaugh began collecting Maryland hand-carved decoys in the mid-1970s, and assembled a collection of more than 800, which he displayed in his home and often lent to museums. His collection included examples from notable carvers such as Madison Mitchell and the Ward brothers.

He was a member of the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum and Harford County Historical Society.

Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. today at Towson United Methodist Church, 501 Hampton Lane, where he was a member.

Mr. Debaugh is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Bertha Mae Sweet; a daughter, Florence Rebecca Kugel of Lutherville; and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his two sons, Charles F. Debaugh Jr. and Robert S. Debaugh.