Deferred Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trusts' Corpus Level 4 (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	$ 2,672,180		$ 2,672,180		$ 2,628,030
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(1,785)		(1,785)		(3,709)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	2,670,395		2,670,395		2,624,321
Care trusts’ corpus	1,108,358		1,108,358		1,098,752
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	52,192	20,396	83,921	87,841
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(11,770)	(10,410)	(15,983)	(36,143)
Impairment charges	(1,512)	(770)	(2,132)	(1,420)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	30,905	18,670	40,340	28,869
Trust expenses and income taxes	(6,753)	(4,968)	(13,378)	(11,107)
Net trust investment income	63,062	22,918	92,768	68,040
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(63,062)	(22,918)	(92,768)	(68,040)
Other income, net	(699)	(2,221)	(1,683)	1,684
Total other income, net	(699)	(2,221)	(1,683)	1,684
Funeral [Member]
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,340,583		1,340,583		1,337,014
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(742)		(742)		(1,827)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,339,841		1,339,841		1,335,187
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	17,330	9,754	28,701	35,765
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(4,445)	(4,412)	(6,166)	(14,160)
Impairment charges	(446)	(230)	(646)	(574)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	14,206	6,551	16,023	8,751
Trust expenses and income taxes	(2,657)	(2,379)	(5,038)	(4,948)
Net trust investment income	23,988	9,284	32,874	24,834
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(23,988)	(9,284)	(32,874)	(24,834)
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0	0	0
Cemetery [Member]
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,331,597		1,331,597		1,291,016
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(1,043)		(1,043)		(1,882)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,330,554		1,330,554		1,289,134
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	29,743	8,610	46,319	47,882
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(6,885)	(4,296)	(9,055)	(18,066)
Impairment charges	(940)	(287)	(1,297)	(592)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	8,915	3,785	10,444	6,061
Trust expenses and income taxes	(3,087)	(3,066)	(6,756)	(6,251)
Net trust investment income	27,746	4,746	39,655	29,034
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(27,746)	(4,746)	(39,655)	(29,034)
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0	0	0
Cemetery Perpetual Care [Member]
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(891)		(891)		(828)
Care trusts' corpus, excluding accrued expenses	1,109,249		1,109,249		1,099,580
Care trusts’ corpus	1,108,358		1,108,358		1,098,752
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	5,119	2,032	8,901	4,194
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(440)	(1,702)	(762)	(3,917)
Impairment charges	(126)	(253)	(189)	(254)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	7,784	8,334	13,873	14,057
Trust expenses and income taxes	(1,009)	477	(1,584)	92
Net trust investment income	11,328	8,888	20,239	14,172
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(11,328)	(8,888)	(20,239)	(14,172)
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0	0	0
Intersegment Eliminations [Member]
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	0	0	0	0
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	0	0	0	0
Impairment charges	0	0	0	0
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	0	0	0	0
Trust expenses and income taxes	0	0	0	0
Net trust investment income	0	0	0	0
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	0	0	0	0
Other income, net	(699)	(2,221)	(1,683)	1,684
Total other income, net	$ (699)	$ (2,221)	$ (1,683)	$ 1,684