Preneed Funeral Activities Fair Value Hierarchy (Details) (Funeral [Member], USD $) In Thousands	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 875,770	$ 875,043
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	603,428	610,240
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	251,935	243,444
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 20,407	$ 21,359