The Ava and Doyle Hale Memorial Conservation Fund was established at Parkersburg Area Community Foundation in 1983 to provide scholarships related to soil conservation. The fund was originally created by the friends and family of Doyle Hale to honor him for his love of the land and his involvement in soil conservation and, later, also to honor Ava for her commitment to the land and to her family.

When Doyle and Ava were first married, they purchased a broom-sage and brier covered piece of land on Jerrys Run Road in Wood County. Through conservation programs, along with hard work and sweat, they improved their land and turned it into a profitable dairy farm. The Hales started with one cow and increased to a herd of fifty. While Doyle worked the dairy, Ava was always preparing food for the winter with freezing and canning.

Ava and Doyle had one son Larry Doyle who died at birth and three daughters: Janice Matthews of Washington, WV; Karen Rawson of Belleville, WV; and Sharlene Davis of Blairsville, GA. Ava was a charter member of the Pond Creek Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary and the Jerrys Run One Room School Reunion. She was a faithful member of the Pond Creek Baptist Church and the Ladies Aid.

Ava and Doyle's daughter, Janice Matthews, recently said, "This memorial fund offers others an opportunity to learn while young to care for our precious land."