Jessica Paikarovski didn't have single passion. She had more than you can count.

She was a DJ. A skilled photographer. A burlesque dancer. A fire-eater. A singer. A costume designer. A painter. A music hoarder. A graphic artist.

The Edison woman was a "spitfire and a firecracker," her sister, Aimee Simon, said. And she valued her Polish and Macedonian heritage — speaking Polish and admiring the culture all around her.

"She was everywhere," Simon said. "She did everything."

Jessica Paikarovski died at age 33 Oct. 16 in a freak accident while in an ocean-fed pool on a private beach in Puerto de La Libertad, El Salvador. She was relaxing there while working a merchandise job with friends from the New Jersey band Inspecter 7 when a wave came over her and pulled her underwater, Simon confirmed.

Her body was found hours later, having been dashed on the rocks, her sister said. A member of the band was badly injured as well.

In a conversation with New Jersey 101.5 Tuesday, Simon reflected on the eclectic, energetic life her sister lived — and the love she had for both her family and the second family she'd found as a performer.

Paikarovski went by the stage name Jess Distress, having embraced the sometimes-bawdy and always-quirky world of burlesque over the last few years. Her sister said not everyone in her life approved — but Paikarovski didn't need someone else's approval to follow a path she loved.

Simon said friends have told her Paikarovski first got into burlesque while traveling in Paris — she became captivated by an artist there. And she'd always loved classic styles, the pinup motif. It fit.

Of all Paikarovski's creative pursuits, though, it was the photography that Simon most loved. She'd photographed album covers for bands such as the Slackers, and had taken pictures of several celebrities, including Joe Strummer. She was in New York for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and ran toward the destruction to document it.

"All that dust and debris — she got really bad, really sick. But the photos were amazing," Simon said.

She'd take photos of family. Of friends. Of graveyards. Of nature in Poland. Of whatever captured her attention at a given moment.

Jessica Paikarovski took this photo of Joe Strummer in 2001. Photography was a passion of the eclectic artist, her sister said.

Simon and Paikarovski shared a bond — they were always getting into trouble together, Simon said. They'd frequent local music shows in their youth.

"As a sister, she was amazing. We used to hang out a lot. We had all the same friends," Simon said. The two also have an older sister, AnnMarie Richardson, who acted like a second mom when they were younger. "But (Jessica) and I were like two peas in a pod. Same friends, same taste in clothes. As we got older — I’d say after the time I met my husband — we still hung out. We didn’t do as much, we went to concerts here and there. She always used to push me to get out. She was always on the go."

That's how they met the members of Inspecter 7, years ago — as fans.

But for all they had in common, Paikarovski was undeniably the largest creative spirit in the family, even among the other artists, Simon said. The fire-eating was still a surprise, she said.

"She always wanted to run away with the circus," Simon said. "My friend used to tell her to be an acrobat. She said I can do better than that. So she did the fire-eating. ... She used to practice in my mom's back yard and freak her out a bit."

To Richardson's kids, she was "Crazy Cioci (Polish for 'aunt')," Simon said.

But for all of Paikarovski's eccentricities and unique habits, "they would just sit there and cuddle. They would sit there and cuddle up on the couch, and just be a regular person too. She loved them."

Paikarovski will be best known in New Jersey for her artistic endeavors. But to her family, she was a sister and a daughter first.

"I was just talking to my mom," Simon said. "She said the thing she keeps remembering is she had such a huge heart. She always meant the best for everyone. She would help you in a heartbeat, give you the T-shirt off her back. She was just such a good-hearted, energetic, eclectic person."