NORTH HAMPTON, N.H. – Ada M. Lyon, 78, of 19A Pine Road, died Thursday, Oct. 28, 2004, at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital after a brief illness. She was born Oct. 23, 1926, in Portage Lake, the daughter of the late Zeph and Gertrude (Fenderson) Prosser. Mrs. Lyon was one of the first women to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise owner. When she opened her KFC in Dover, N.H. in 1966 it was the state’s first KFC to operate year-round. She sold the business and retired in 1986. She also worked several years as a Realtor in the seacoast area. She had been a member of both the Hampton United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ in North Hampton, N.H. She was a member and past president of the Westinghouse Wives Club and enjoyed playing bridge, golf and cross country skiing. Mrs. Lyon was married to J. Vernon Lyon in May of 1944, upon her graduation from Traip Academy in Kittery. They traveled throughout the country with his work as a nuclear engineer before settling on Grove Road in Rye, N.H. in 1970, to be near their three daughters. She had resided with her daughter, Katherine in Greenland for three years before moving to her daughter, Marilyn’s home last year. Her home in Rye, N.H. was always open to her family and friends where she hosted many family weddings and receptions. She was predeceased by her husband, in March 2001; and by her brother, Rodney Prosser, who died when he was 5 years old. Family members include her three daughters, Sherill A. MacDormand of New Durham, N.H., Marilyn M. Wanyo of North Hampton, N.H., and Kathryn L. Mullholand of Greenland; six grandchildren, Tammy Duval, Jodi Murphy, Maureen Robillard, Carrie Wanyo, Jay Mullholand, and Bryan Mullholand; three great-grandchildren; a brother, Byron Prosser of Albion; a sister, Altha P. Nelson of North Hampton, N.H., and many nieces and nephews. Services will be held 1 p.m. Monday, in the United Church of Christ, Atlantic Avenue, North Hampton, N.H. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited and may call 3-5 p.m. Sunday, at the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory, 811 Lafayette Road, Hampton, N.H. Private burial will be in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Elliot. The family request that flowers please be omitted. If desired, donations may be made to Portsmouth/Derry/Salem Home Health and Hospice Services, 95 Brewery Lane, Unit 11, Portsmouth, NH 03801.