Since Jessica Hilliard was shot to death outside a bar in Parks Township, Rachael Meising said she’s been looking toward the sky and speaking with her best friend.

“I didn’t want her to be alone during her first day in heaven,” said Meising, 31.

Hilliard, 34, of Apollo and a mother of three children, was shot and killed early Sunday morning outside Niki’s Quick Six after she and others attempted to intervene in a fight in the parking lot.

Police say a Vandergrift man, David James Dunmire, killed Hilliard and wounded three others in the incident. He is facing homicide charges.

Meising, an Irwin resident, said she met Hilliard while the two attended Deer Lakes High School, where Hilliard later graduated.

For years, she said, the two would talk every night to check in.

Saturday evening, Meising said she initially missed Hilliard’s call before the two caught up for about five minutes later.

For the past few days, Meising said she’s been replaying a voicemail left by her best friend Saturday. It’s one of the things that’s kept her going.

Hilliard’s older sister, Amanda Evachek, said her family moved around the region when they were kids, but they mostly grew up in Blawnox.

Evachek, who lives in Louisiana, said her sister was funny and artistic and a loving mother to her three children.

“She was very creative. She loved to draw. She loved art, and she loved her kids,” said Evachek, 36.

Hilliard leaves behind two daughters and a son: Aryanna, 15; Rylee, 10; and Lincoln, 6.

She worked as a bartender at Krick’s Tavern in Trafford, but Evachek said she was mostly a stay-at-home mom.

Evachek described her sister as “selfless” — something she said was on display as she attempted to intervene in the altercation outside Niki’s the night of her death.

“She was just a bystander, and she saw something wrong was happening,” she said.

During hard times, Meising said, Hilliard never let her feel alone, and during joyous ones, she was there to celebrate.

When Meising found out she was pregnant, she said Hilliard yelled and screamed in excitement. And she was the first person to hold Meising’s daughter.

She said she considered Hilliard not just a friend but a sister.

“I wish everybody in the world could have a friend like her,” Meising said.

An online fundraiser to help pay for funeral expenses and support Hilliard’s family had generated nearly $21,000 by Tuesday afternoon.

Staff writer Joyce Hanz contributed to this report.