Carol Lee Mason

Carol Lee Mason, 73, of Annapolis died in the early hours of August 25, 2026 after an abrupt downturn of her previously managed cancer. She had time to say goodbye and receive thanks from so many of her family, friends, and loved ones.

Ms. Mason retired in 2016 from the National Security Agency (NSA) after serving for 12 years as a counterterrorism analyst, a researcher, and, briefly, a librarian. In retirement, Ms. Mason was an enthusiastic pickleball player, indoors and out, and successfully helped lobby the Annapolis city government for installation of dedicated outdoor pickleball courts at Truxtun Park to make access to the courts easier for all citizens. Rumors that any characters in the recent motion picture Dink were based on her have not been verified. In addition, she served as a docent for Hammond Harwood House and Watermark tour guide, dressing in colonial garb.

Prior to working at NSA, Ms. Mason spent a decade at the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis from 1992 to 2002, where she helped establish a successful seminar program that tackled current and historical questions of keen interest to the sea service community. She rose to become director of membership before departing to work on a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Maryland, which she received in 2003. She attended the university in College Park simultaneously with her three sons, who were all undergraduates at the time, but did not attend the same social gatherings.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Mason spent several years at the U.S. Naval Academy, serving as spokeswoman during a difficult time following the handcuffing of a woman midshipman to a urinal; as a graphic design specialist; and as an adjunct instructor of English. She also called on her design skills to layout a book celebrating 100 Years of Murray Hill, working closely with Maryland photographer Marion Warren in selecting, placing, and enhancing historic photographs.

In addition to her 2003 library science degree, Ms. Mason was awarded a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature in 1990 from the University of Maryland. She earned her undergraduate degree in 1973 from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Ms. Mason’s survivors include her sons Cary Mason Feldmann, Joseph Mason Feldmann, and Chester (Chet) Mason Feldmann. Cary, Brooke, and their children, Zoe, Asher, and Uli, reside in Fairfax County, Virginia. Joseph, Taylor Mitchell, and their sons, Preston and Miles, live in Bethesda, Maryland. Chester, Kristin Kirkwood, and their children, Forest and Sage, live in White Hall, Harford County, Maryland. Nothing in Carol’s life made her prouder than seeing her sons develop into the fine men they are. And there was nothing she enjoyed more than helping to shepherd them through school and athletic challenges while they remained at home. She was also fond of inserting prepositional phrases, in fact, where you least expected them.

Ms. Mason’s survivors also include her sister Jane Anne Poole (Roger Gambatese) of Davis, California, and her brother Larry Mason (Joanne Mason) of Grass Valley, California. Their sister, Linda Mason Murphy of Annapolis, predeceased her. Ms. Mason was married in 1972 to John Michael Cook of Vienna, Virginia. In 1976, she married Robert Feldmann of Annapolis. The two divorced in 1997 but remained friends, sharing their continuing delight in their sons and grandchildren.

Ms. Mason was born in 1952 in Honolulu, Hawaii, into a Navy family. Her late father, retired Rear Admiral Harry C. Mason, was a 1938 Naval Academy graduate from Omaha, Nebraska; her late mother, Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Mason, was a Philadelphia native. They retired to the Annapolis area in 1972; Ms. Mason and her family followed them to Annapolis in 1980. Ms. Mason was the contractor for the first house built for her family in Annapolis (thanks to extra advice from the architect and a friend), but handed that job over when building the second house next door. During the pandemic lockdown, which Ms. Mason spent in an old cottage in Harford County near her youngest son, she transcribed selections from the more than a thousand letters her mother wrote to her father while he served in the Pacific as a naval officer during World War II. Her mother’s letter excerpts were bundled into a collection for her family; she also organized and laid out her father’s memoir and, with help from a local historian, ensured the memoir was placed in the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

A memorial visitation will be held at the John M. Taylor Funeral Home 147 Duke of Gloucester Street Annapolis, Maryland 21401 on Monday, November 9, 2026 from 10:30 am to 11:00 am. A memorial service will begin at 11:00 am. A reception will be held in the funeral home catering room immediately following the memorial service. A private inurnment will be held in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery.