It's all in the details ...

After earning her bachelor of arts degree in English literature from Rockford College and her master of arts degree at Northwestern University, she joined the Army Security Agency, forerunner of the National Security Agency, as an analyst in Washington, D.C. There she met her husband, Frederic Ogden Mason Jr., who claimed to have grown up only six blocks away from her in Winnetka. Barbara found this suspect and had her mother check out his story. Not only did he live six blocks away, but his family had a three-digit phone number, which meant they were among the original residents.