Cemetery Perpetual Care Trusts Level 3 (Tables) (Cemetery Perpetual Care [Member])

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Cemetery Perpetual Care [Member]

Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust Investments [Line Items]

Investment related activities [Table Text Block]

The table below sets forth certain investment-related activities associated with our cemetery perpetual care trusts for the years ended December 31:

	2012			2011			2010
	(In thousands)
Deposits	$	24,869		$	23,785		$	22,828
Withdrawals	33,177			34,737			41,418
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	252,021			444,616			442,219
Sales of available-for-sale securities	136,391			410,175			365,017
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	11,463			34,275			11,753
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(6,595		)	(16,310		)	(9,792		)

Long-term receivable and investment components [Table Text Block]

The components of Cemetery perpetual care trust investments in our consolidated balance sheet at December 31 were as follows:

	2012		2011
	(In thousands)
Trust investments, at market	$	1,045,568	$	952,573
Cash and cash equivalents	54,012		63,933
Cemetery perpetual care trust investments	$	1,099,580	$	1,016,506

Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

The cost and market values associated with our cemetery perpetual care trust investments recorded at fair market value at December 31, 2012 and 2011 are detailed below. Cost reflects the investment (net of redemptions) of control holders in common trust funds, mutual funds, and private equity investments. Fair market value represents the value of the underlying securities or cash held by the common trust funds, mutual funds at published values, and the estimated market value of private equity investments.

		December 31, 2012
	Fair Value Hierarchy Level	Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses			Fair Market Value
				(In thousands)
Fixed income securities:
U.S. Treasury	2	$	820	$	45	$	(1	)	$	864
Canadian government	2	30,159		709		(140		)	30,728
Corporate	2	22,877		537		(51		)	23,363
Residential mortgage-backed	2	1,498		41		(2		)	1,537
Asset-backed	2	161		10		—			171
Equity securities:
Preferred stock	2	5,637		61		(938		)	4,760
Common stock:
United States	1	163,173		19,609		(3,389		)	179,393
Canada	1	8,954		1,568		(731		)	9,791
Other international	1	14,693		1,392		(447		)	15,638
Mutual funds:
Equity	1	16,999		2,102		(211		)	18,890
Fixed income	1	680,921		61,172		(441		)	741,652
Private equity	3	24,727		338		(13,943		)	11,122
Other	3	9,653		1,110		(3,104		)	7,659
Cemetery perpetual care trust investments		$	980,272	$	88,694	$	(23,398	)	$	1,045,568

		December 31, 2011
	Fair Value Hierarchy Level	Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses			Fair Market Value
				(In thousands)
Fixed income securities:
U.S. Treasury	2	$	981	$	39	$	—		$	1,020
Canadian government	2	29,015		686		(43		)	29,658
Corporate	2	21,197		528		(134		)	21,591
Residential mortgage-backed	2	1,662		53		(13		)	1,702
Asset-backed	2	83		2		(1		)	84
Equity securities:
Preferred stock	2	6,475		18		(1,146		)	5,347
Common stock:
United States	1	141,880		14,443		(9,113		)	147,210
Canada	1	13,374		1,483		(1,423		)	13,434
Other international	1	16,836		1,314		(1,421		)	16,729
Mutual funds:
Equity	1	21,801		1,598		(579		)	22,820
Fixed income	1	654,883		29,758		(9,402		)	675,239
Private equity	3	23,212		374		(12,737		)	10,849
Other	3	8,018		850		(1,978		)	6,890
Cemetery perpetual care trust investments		$	939,417	$	51,146	$	(37,990	)	$	952,573

Fair Value, Assets Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

The change in our market-based cemetery perpetual care trust investments with significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) is as follows for the years ended December 31 (in thousands):

	2012			2011			2010
Fair market value, beginning balance	$	17,739		$	17,089		$	14,943
Net unrealized gains included in Accumulated other comprehensive income (1)	2,683			7,400			7,018
Net realized losses included in Other income (expense), net (2)	(205		)	(310		)	(2,613		)
Sales	(26		)	(44		)	(155		)
Contributions	4,171			118			11,140
Distributions and other	(5,581		)	(6,514		)	(13,244		)
Fair market value, ending balance	$	18,781		$	17,739		$	17,089

(1) All unrealized gains (losses) recognized in Accumulated other comprehensive income for our cemetery perpetual care trust investments are offset by a corresponding reclassification in Accumulated other comprehensive income to Care trusts’ corpus. See Note 7 for further information related to our Care trusts’ corpus.

(2) All losses recognized in Other income (expense), net for our cemetery perpetual care trust investments are offset by a corresponding reclassification in Other income (expense), net to Care trusts’ corpus. See Note 7 for further information related to our Care trusts’ corpus.

Investments Classified by Contractual Maturity Date [Table Text Block]

Maturity dates of our fixed income securities range from 2013 to 2041. Maturities of fixed income securities at December 31, 2012 are estimated as follows:

	Fair Market Value
	(In thousands)
Due in one year or less	$	9,578
Due in one to five years	22,963
Due in five to ten years	22,830
Thereafter	1,292
	$	56,663

Schedule of Unrealized Loss on Investments [Table Text Block]

Our cemetery perpetual care trust investment unrealized losses, their associated fair market values and the duration of unrealized losses for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, are shown in the following table:

	December 31, 2012
	In Loss Position Less Than 12 Months						In Loss Position Greater Than 12 Months					Total
	Fair Market Value			Unrealized Losses			Fair Market Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Market Value		Unrealized Losses
							(In thousands)
Fixed income securities:
U.S. Treasury	$	373		$	(1	)	$	—	$	—		$	373	$	(1	)
Canadian government	9,145			(140		)	—		—			9,145		(140		)
Corporate	5,439			(33		)	1,886		(18		)	7,325		(51		)
Residential mortgage-backed	183			(2		)	—		—			183		(2		)
Equity securities:
Preferred stock	3,115			(639		)	973		(299		)	4,088		(938		)
Common stock:
United States	38,323			(2,403		)	7,495		(986		)	45,818		(3,389		)
Canada	1,246			(281		)	1,055		(450		)	2,301		(731		)
Other international	4,712			(389		)	696		(58		)	5,408		(447		)
Mutual funds:
Equity	2,654			(127		)	404		(84		)	3,058		(211		)
Fixed income	10,552			(37		)	31,837		(404		)	42,389		(441		)
Private equity	—			—			10,752		(13,943		)	10,752		(13,943		)
Other	—			—			6,308		(3,104		)	6,308		(3,104		)
Total temporarily impaired securities	$	75,742	—	$	(4,052	)	$	61,406	$	(19,346	)	$	137,148	$	(23,398	)

	December 31, 2011
	In Loss Position Less Than 12 Months					In Loss Position Greater Than 12 Months					Total
	Fair Market Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Market Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Market Value		Unrealized Losses
						(In thousands)
Fixed income securities:
Canadian government	7,057		(43		)	—		—			7,057		(43		)
Corporate	3,854		(73		)	1,456		(61		)	5,310		(134		)
Residential mortgage-backed	58		(1		)	127		(12		)	185		(13		)
Asset-backed	51		(1		)	—		—			51		(1		)
Equity securities:
Preferred stock	4,393		(1,116		)	21		(30		)	4,414		(1,146		)
Common stock:
United States	39,716		(5,459		)	9,055		(3,654		)	48,771		(9,113		)
Canada	4,402		(772		)	565		(651		)	4,967		(1,423		)
Other international	5,738		(1,226		)	104		(195		)	5,842		(1,421		)
Mutual funds:
Equity	9,852		(564		)	2,717		(15		)	12,569		(579		)
Fixed income	144,350		(5,498		)	51,301		(3,904		)	195,651		(9,402		)
Private equity	254		(324		)	10,189		(12,413		)	10,443		(12,737		)
Other	140		(181		)	5,660		(1,797		)	5,800		(1,978		)
Total temporarily impaired securities	$	219,865	$	(15,258	)	$	81,195	$	(22,732	)	$	301,060	$	(37,990	)