Over the past few years, Orlowski had been working towards getting her aviation certificate, and had only recently completed it.
“She had just got her wings for flying ... her New Zealand Certificate in Aviation,” Ferguson said.
“She was just deciding where to go from there, it was a massive achievement for her.”
Ferguson said if she could describe her friend in three words, they would be “kind, loud and bubbly”.
She said everyone who knew her would miss her dearly.
Shianne Rosalene, another one of Orlowski’s friends, said there was “never a dull moment when Samantha was around”.
“She really knew how to cheer people up and was always there for people when they needed someone,” she said.
Rosalene described Orlowski’s smile as “infectious” and explained how she was her “absolute world and so much more”.
Ferguson is urging people not to take their friends for granted.
“You know we get so busy and so caught up in our lives... and now I’ve got to live with the fact that I didn’t hear her voice and didn’t reach out when I could have,” Ferguson said.
“You went through hell and back and were fighting your way to a better life one step at a time... rest in peace dear friend, your legacy will never be forgotten.”
A Givealittle page has been set up to support the family.
Orlowski “leaves behind her mum Kate, Dad Rob, Brother James, Brother Sylys, Nephew Emmet, Grandmother Katherine and myself her bonus sister. Aswell as so many cherished family and friends”, the page said.
