Preneed Cemetery Activities Fair Value Hierarchy (Details) (Cemetery [Member], USD $)	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 1,099,940,000	$ 1,062,771,000
Fair Value, Investments, Entities that Calculate Net Asset Value Per Share, Unfunded Commitments	13,700,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	963,655,000	932,782,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	121,611,000	123,738,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 14,674,000	$ 6,251,000