Cemetery Perpetual Care Trusts Fair Value Hierarchy (Details) (Cemetery Perpetual Care [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 952,573	$ 922,228
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	875,432	806,828
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	59,402	98,311
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 17,739	$ 17,089