VIDEO: A Public 'Celebration' of Football Legend Frank Gifford Is Being Planned

*Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Kathie Lee Gifford’s announcement on Tuesday.

A public “celebration” of New York Giants football legend Frank Gifford’s is being planned by his widow Kathie Lee Gifford and the couple’s family.

The announcement came on the Today show Tuesday as co-host Kathie Lee Gifford thanked the public for its outpouring of love and support in the week following the sudden death of the Football Hall of Famer in the couple’s Riverside, CT home.

Gifford collapsed and died on Aug. 9, a week before his 85th birthday. She said he was wearing his trademark “white shirt and tight black jeans,” having coffee as they prepared for church.

Because “Frank hated funerals,” the family held a private party to celebrate his life, she said. “Frank hated funerals. Frank hated boxes. He hated to be in an elevator,” she said. “We played Frank Sinatra all day long. We had a party … the only criteria was that it had to be somebody he adored.”

“We want to celebrate Frank’s life (in a way) that the public can come to,” she said. Given the outpouring of support on social media, Gifford added, “I think we can fill a big hall. We’re going to try to put it together.”

Kathie Lee Gifford also announced on Tuesday that the New York Giants, where Gifford spent his entire career and was known as “the heart of the Giants,” will honor his memory this season with a patch on players’ helmets bearing #16, the number Gifford wore during his tenure with the team.

She and Gifford had two children and lived in the Riverside neighborhood of Greenwich since 1986. He also had three children from a previous marriage.

When Kathie Lee Gifford returned to Today on Monday, she paid tribute to her late husband, which can be seen here. Her announcement Tuesday morning can be viewed below.

Related stories:

• New York Giants Football Legend Frank Gifford Dies At 84
• 5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Frank Gifford

Photos: screenshots from NBC’s Today show with Kathie Lee Gifford and her late husband Frank Gifford.