'She Was Sunshine:' Donovan Alum, 23, Mourned After Cancer Fight

TOMS RIVER, NJ — "Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace." The words Samantha Bienkowski pasted on her cap when she graduated from La Salle University last spring captured the spirt of a young woman who was determined to bloom no matter what life threw at her.

Her spirit and her smile are what friends and family are remembering after the Toms River woman succumbed to cancer Tuesday morning, friends said. She was 23.

Samantha, who went by the nickname Sami, was a 2012 graduate then-named Monsignor Donovan High School who had fought cancer since 2008, according to Donovan Catholic spokeswoman JoAnn D'Anton. Sami, who also was a graduate of La Salle University in Philadelphia and was working to become a pediatric nurse, not only fought it, she refused to let it keep her from pursuing her dreams.

Sami was first diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the summer of 2008, following her freshman year at Donovan, D'Anton said in a post on the high school's Facebook page.

"Determined to remain on track to graduate with her class and maintain a sense of normalcy, she entered her sophomore year while undergoing chemotherapy treatments. At Monsignor Donovan, Sami played on both the volleyball and lacrosse teams, was a member of various clubs and became a retreat leader for several retreats including the Emmanuel Retreat," D'Anton wrote. "She cherished her time spent at MonDon, the lasting memories and friendships made."

That is evidenced by the photos on Sami Bienkowski's Facebook page that show her smiling as she poses by a blossoming cherry tree before junior prom, on a hiking trip with friends and being silly in the halls of the high school.

"This retreat will always hold a special place in my heart," she wrote on photos from two of the Emmanuel trips. "Couldn't imagine going to high school anywhere else. Going to miss MonDon so much," she wrote on a photo of her in her high school cap and gown on graduation day.

D'Anton said Sami's cancer went into remission while she was in high school, but a few years later while attending Ocean County College, she was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a secondary rare cancer. She again underwent aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments and went into remission again, posting a photo of her final treatment in June 2014 with the note, "Sami 2, Cancer 0."

The remission didn't last long, however, D'Anton said, and Sami relapsed twice. Undeterred, Sami graduated from OCC in 2015 and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in psychology in the spring of 2017 from La Salle, D'Anton said.

"Up until a couple of weeks ago, she was enrolled in nursing school pursuing her dream of one day becoming a pediatric nurse. Unfortunately, Sami’s health made a sudden turn for the worse and she was under hospice care at home. Sami went home to our Lord this morning surrounded by her loving family," D'Anton wrote.

"You were such a beautiful light of life in this world," friend Kristen Maiale wrote on Facebook. "I am so blessed to have known you and have learned so much about life from you and your beautiful soul. ... I miss your contagious smile already. I will forever admire your strength, courage, and grace."

"This breaks my heart so much," Cris Ray wrote. "It was always a good day walking into school in the morning and seeing her talking to everyone and starting the day off well."

Sami and her friends and family supported a number of fundraisers for childhood cancer research, and were part of the Frances Foundation, which helps families of children who are fighitng cancer.

"Through every setback and every struggle, Sami, marked by her signature smile, always maintained an exceptionally positive attitude, remarkable strength, an extraordinary sense of compassion and care for others. She lived life to the fullest and is an inspiration to all who have known her," D'Anton wrote.

"She was sunshine," Christine Mooney wrote in a comment on the Donovan Catholic post. "Your light will carry on! You will be missed but your energy and infectious spirit will carry on in all that knew you," Amanda Thompson wrote on the post.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.

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