Al Crow could not be easily pigeonholed.

He was so smart that he dropped out of high school to attend Purdue University. He had so many interests that it took him 17 years to graduate, said his sister, Dena Lyst of Fort Wayne, Ind.

"He didn't like living in the system," said his sister. "He studied everything that interested him, and would refuse to take the three classes he needed to get his degree. He was a hippie."

While taking courses at Purdue, Mr. Crow did a few other things. He ran a record store, Ruby's Red Hot Records. He spent a year on the road as a carnival barker and learned sleight-of-hand magic. He made one-of-a-kind jewelry.

And he founded a nonprofit organization in Fort Wayne.

"It was called Switchboard, and it was one of the earliest attempts to set up a 24-hour phone line for people in trouble," said his sister. "It still exists today."

Harker Alexander Crow III, 54, of Marietta, died Tuesday of a heart attack at his workplace at Equifax in Alpharetta. The body will be cremated. The memorial service was Thursday. Jewish Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Crow moved to Atlanta in 1988, three years after earning his Purdue degree, and landed work as a computer programmer and systems analyst with Equifax. "He was absolutely amazing," said Susan Eisen of Marietta, a former systems analyst with Equifax. "They would dump a manual on his desk, and he would figure out how to do or fix most anything He must have saved the company so much money."

Meanwhile, the former rock guitarist sang with the Big Chicken Chorus, a barbershop group. He joined the Southern Riders motorcycle club, riding the Honda he named Snaggletooth on both fund raising and fun trips. Often Mr. Crow wore bow ties when he rode, said his sister. "He was a bow tie fanatic."

Searching for spirituality, the former Methodist found a home at Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta. He sang in the choir, served as head usher and was president of the men's fellowship group Brotherhood.

"Al threw himself into the process of being Jewish," said his rabbi, Steven Lebow of Marietta. "He designed the synagogue's first song book, using computer fonts in Hebrew, and designed our Web site, one of the first Web pages in the country for a religious organization. It's super cool, with music and visuals, and it won several awards."

"Whenever Al got interested in anything, he was possessed to learn everything about the subject," said his sister. "He was enthralled with life."

There are no additional immediate survivors.