His death is mired in controversy, but former West Coast Eagle Chris Mainwaring has been remembered as a natural father, a selfless friend and one of the club's greatest players.

Family and friends celebrated the life of the 41-year-old former football star at a moving memorial service in Perth.

Mainwaring was farewelled amid continuing speculation that drugs may have contributed to his collapse and death at his Perth home last Monday.

On Monday, more than 1,000 people gathered at Christ Church Grammar School's chapel were reminded of the footballing skills and the larrikin side of the dual premiership player many knew as "Mainy".

Together with Mainwaring's wife Rani and their two children Maddy, 8, and Zac, 6, they also remembered the husband and father.

"Maddy and Zac, your dad was the best dad and he loved you and mummy more than anything in the world," said West Coast chaplain and WA Football Commission chairman Neale Fong.

Setting tears flowing, Dr Fong added: "All these people are here today, Maddy and Zac, because they thought daddy was the best too."

Eagles star Ben Cousins, one of the last to see Mainwaring alive, joined the former footballer's two brothers, Glenn and Brett, among pallbearers who carried his casket, draped with his number three guernsey, into the chapel.

Following his wife and children were Mainwaring's parents, Hub and Leah, following silently behind as dozens of past and present Eagles players formed a guard of honour.

Former Eagles coach Mick Malthouse and Seven Network owner Kerry Stokes, for whom Mainwaring most recently worked, were also among the mourners.

Outside the overflowing chapel, fans dressed in West Coast's yellow and blue stood in the driving rain, watching the service on a giant screen.

Former teammate Guy McKenna's voice broke with emotion as he remembered his mate's selflessness, courage, drive and passion as "one of the best" Eagles players of all time.

"He was and still is, in his own way, the heart of West Coast," McKenna said.

Mainwaring's sister Wendy Mainwaring-Clarke said she would miss her little brother's "infectious laugh" and easy nature.

"Chris, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away. Do you know how many times you took our breath away?"

Former housemate and new West Coast chairman Mark Barnaba said on the Friday before he died, Mainwaring had talked to him at length about how much he loved his wife and children.

He said Mainwaring was a natural father who had given him a book on fatherhood following Zac's birth with an inscription reading, `You don't know what love is until you have kids'.

A musical video tribute which included Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run showed Mainwaring as a young boy in his home town of Geraldton, as a player with East Fremantle and then the Eagles, as a family man and as a television presenter.

Leading the service, Dr Fong said he did not intend to reflect on the circumstances surrounding Mainwaring's death, which is being investigated.

"This I do know: Mainy was no different to others in our community who have hurts and wounds that need healing," he said.

"Though burdened by a number of concerns, Mainy was a tower of strength and purpose. He was an optimist and surrounded by the right level of friends and support he would have got through these issues."

An autopsy has been carried out and will determine whether drugs were involved, although the test results will only be released if the coroner holds a public inquest.

Mainwaring was cremated in a private service at Karrakatta cemetery.

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