Mr Geale, who served as mayor from 2010 to 2011, died on Saturday at the age of 71.

His brother Kerry said he was a "great family person," who was very proud of the two sons he raised with his wife Barbara.

Born as part of Wagga's first ever set of triplets, Mr Geale joined the Scouts as a cub, beginning a lifetime of service including leadership positions at both a regional and national level which saw him given life membership of the association.

Mr Geale's brother Kerry said he put his "heart and soul" into his work with the Scouts and rose to the top.

"We all started together and it was just one of the things he took on and kept doing," he said.

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Wayne, Kerry and their brother Barry were the first set of triplets to be given the Queen's Scouts Award.

Mr Geale's service to the organisation over several decades earned him a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2005.

He served as a councillor during a turbulent time for the Wagga City Council, with leadership changes every year from 2010 to 2012.

Alan Brown, who served as deputy mayor during Mr Geale's tenure, said it was a challenging period to lead.

"Wayne was brave enough to put his hand up to take the challenge on, he did an extremely good job as mayor for a year," he said.

"He deserved a longer term."

Mr Brown said Mr Geale had the city's best interests at heart, and he understood the value of the mayor's position.

"He operated in a very different way in that he was very consultative with the other councillors," he said.

"He certainly did his best to invite all the councillors into the process.

"We did some really good things together."

Kerry Geale said his brother was passionate about Wagga's business and volunteer communities, and he was single-minded in his dedication to the city.

"If he made up his mind he wanted to do something, he just kept working until he got it," he said.

"With both paper and council, he was trying to keep things moving along all the time and trying to get people involved."

Before his time in local government, Mr Geale was appointed general manager and then chief executive officer of the Riverina Media Group in the 2000s.

At the time, the company was owner of the region's newspapers including The Daily Advertiser until the group was sold to Rural Press in 2007.

Current Wagga mayor Greg Conkey, who was the director of the Riverina Leader under Mr Geale's management, said Mr Geale made a "significant contribution" to the city in his role with the newspaper and later on through council.

"He served the city well as a councillor and mayor and I'm sorry to hear of his passing," Cr Conkey said.

He said Mr Geale's community-mindedness continued to drive him after his time in local government through his role on the board of the Riverina Conservatorium of Music.

Graham Gorrel, Mr Geale's predecessor at the Riverina Media Group, said he was known for having a strong record for sales and circulation before he was promoted at the company.

He said Mr Geale had a "claim to fame in many areas" through his community efforts, something Mr Geale and his brothers were all known for.

"All three triplets were very, very community minded," he said.

"It wasn't any surprise when he decided to stand for council."