Dennis and Ruby Farley lived just outside of Cairo, West Virginia and operated a grocery store in Cairo for many years. While they were childless, Dennis' brother and sister-on-law died young, leaving 3 young sons as orphans. Dennis and Ruby raised one of the boys, Charles William Farley, who later moved to Mentor, Ohio, where he was a school teacher and principal.

Another of the boys, George Farley, was raised by gracious families in Parkersburg. George then entered the Navy and returned to Parkersburg after his tour of duty and worked as a State Farm agent for 39 years until his retirement. George served in the West Virginia House of Delegates for 18 years. Public service was very important to George. In addition to his service in the House of Delegates, George volunteered with a number of projects in the Parkersburg area, including the Erickson All Sports Facility.

After Dennis Farley died in 1990 and as his Aunt Ruby grew older, Ruby, with George's encouragement, decided to create the Farley Foundation, to be established after Ruby's death. Thus, following Ruby's passing in 2000, the Dennis and Ruby Farley Foundation was created to benefit nonprofit organizations in both Ritchie and Wood counties. George served as trustee until his death in 2005, after which the fund became part of Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and continues to support charitable needs and projects in Wood and Ritchie counties.