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Former Geelong president and philanthropist Frank Costa will be farewelled at a state memorial service.

Long-time Geelong president and philanthropist Frank Costa will be farewelled at a state memorial service.

Costa died in his sleep on Sunday after a year-long battle with illness. He was aged 83.

The memorial service will be held on Wednesday at GMHBA Stadium.

Costa served Geelong for 30 years and was the only person to have been named a legend of the club without ever playing for the Cats.

He was made aware of his impending induction as the club's 26th official legend in the week before his death.

Costa took over the Geelong presidency in 1998 when the club was in serious financial trouble.

He oversaw a major rebuild that led to one of its most successful eras.

It included premierships in 2007 and 2009 under Costa's presidency and a third in 2011, the year he handed over to Colin Carter.

After taking over the family business with his brother at the age of 21, Costa was the driving force in turning the Costa Group into the largest fruit and vegetables wholesaler in Australia.

His net worth was estimated at $802 million in 2020 by the Financial Review Rich List.

Costa was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1997 for services to youth and the community.

In 2015, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Tickets to Costa's memorial service will be available from 12pm Monday and it will be livestreamed.

Instead of flowers, people have been urged to make a donation to support the Anam Cara House, SecondBite or the Geelong Community Foundation.