The life of missing Warrior Sonny Fai will be marked with two memorial services in Auckland next week ahead of the new NRL season.

Fai, 20, disappeared on January 4 after rescuing his brother and four cousins at Bethells Beach, west Auckland.

Extensive searches of the area failed to find him and he is presumed drowned.

His sister, Lalelei Fai, said the family had decided it was time to honour him.

"We are going through a difficult time, still praying and hoping that Sonny will come back to us," she said.

"We haven't given up, but as a family we need to carry on with our lives and Sonny deserves to have his life celebrated in an appropriate way."

The first service will be at a Samoan Methodist Church in Auckland on Monday.

It will be a private ceremony for family, close friends, members of the Warriors and church members.

The second service, at Bethells Beach on Tuesday, will be a public one followed by what Lalelei Fai described as a celebration party.

She said the family planned to have a commemorative plaque placed at the beach.

The Warriors, who open their NRL campaign at home against Parramatta on March 14, are preparing their own tribute to Fai on April 5, when they host South Sydney.

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