"If every family had a Cole, the world would be a perfect place," she said.
"Those eyes, that smiled and laughed" as an infant is what uncle Mark Walker would miss about his nephew the most.
"That smile and laughter remained with him right through. If you see a photo now, you're still looking at that kid who was 18 months old, it's the same expression. He has never grown out of it or changed."
Cole was the life of the party wherever he went, he said.
"Without being loud, Cole had a way of blending in, being good fun. He was a daredevil but wasn't silly about it. Just a good bugger. He just lived life. What keeps coming to my mind is, it is not how many years in your life, it's how much life in your years and that saying doesn't suit anyone better than him."
Uncle Brent Mathews said his nephew never left anything in the tank. "He loved extreme activities and was prepared to take the risk."
Biking, skiing, caving, hiking, and jumping off every cliff whether it was from 3m to 20m, he did it, he said.
"He was just a kid that loved to do stuff but no matter what that boy did, you couldn't help but like him," he said.
"He would just light up a room."
Cole's death was a loss to the whole community, neighbour and family friend Debbie Dean said.
Cole had grown up down the road from the Deans, eventually helping out on their farm in the weekends and holidays as a teenager.
"The main thing about Cole is that wherever you saw him he'd always greet you with a big cheesy smile.
"Rosalie and Greg have done a sterling job bringing up their family. It's a real loss to them and the community losing Cole."
Cole was always on his mountain bike, from the moment he could "ride two wheels", Mrs Dean said.
The Rotorua Mountain Bike Club posted on Facebook on Wednesday night.
"Our thoughts tonight are with family and friends of Cole Walker who has passed away following a bad accident in the forest this past week. The forest brings so much joy to people ... It is not often that we have to accept this kind of sad news.
"The club and its members want to extend their deepest condolences to Cole's family."
Club treasurer Malcolm Thomas said there was talk of a memorial ride in the forest and if that was something the Walker family wished to hold then it would support them.
The former Te Puke High School student did the school proud, Cole's school dean Michael Pointon said.
"He was a lovely boy, really well liked. He always had a big smile on his face and never got into trouble ... He was just a really good fella."
Cole would always have a laugh winding up the teachers, deputy principal Simon McGillivray said, "but he always had a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face".
"He was a really likeable young man."
He showed promise in mechanics early on, named the top engineering student in year 11 and went on to do a small engine apprenticeship at Te Puke Stihl Shop after graduating high school in 2012.
