Pamela Pfaff Cocks

Pamela Pfaff Cocks, age 82, passed away in Durham, NC, on June 20, 2026. During her life, Dr. Cocks was a voracious author, historian, and librarian as well as a loving wife, sister, mother, and grandmother. 

The daughter of Kay Thomas Pfaff and Dr. Eugene Pfaff– a professor of history at UNC Greensboro and first Secretary of the US Embassy in Egypt in the 1960s– Dr. Cocks was born in Greensboro, NC, in 1943 and raised with her sisters Margaret, Diane, and Gail and brother Gene. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from UNC Greensboro in 1965, and following her graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study in London, where she met her husband, Franklin Hadley Cocks, also a Fulbright Scholar. 

After several years in Boston, MA, during which she obtained a Master’s degree from Harvard University in 1967 and her PhD in Russian history from Boston College in 1974, Dr. Cocks and her husband, a professor of engineering at Duke University, moved to Durham, NC, where they raised twin sons, Josiah and Elijah. She went on to study Library Science at UNC Chapel Hill, obtaining a Master’s degree in 1980, and served as Director of Libraries at Durham Academy in the 1980s and 90s. An excellent writer, she also authored a number of mystery novels under the pen name Dicey Thomas. She enjoyed watching Duke basketball and Wimbledon tennis. 

Dr. Cocks is survived by her sons Josiah (wife Leslie Deak) of Arlington, VA, and Elijah (wife Christie Jackson) and granddaughter Evelyn and grandson Addison of Winchester, MA. 

The family plans a private memorial in Durham, NC.

The family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, Inc.