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		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	$ 2,795,720		$ 2,795,720		$ 2,628,030
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(2,264)		(2,264)		(3,709)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	2,793,456		2,793,456		2,624,321
Care trusts’ corpus	1,119,501		1,119,501		1,098,752
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	37,789	20,763	121,710	108,604
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(6,632)	(13,050)	(22,615)	(49,193)
Impairment charges	(375)	(344)	(2,507)	(1,764)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	11,013	12,443	51,353	41,312
Trust expenses and income taxes	(6,490)	(6,131)	(19,868)	(17,238)
Net trust investment income	35,305	13,681	128,073	81,721
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(35,305)	(13,681)	(128,073)	(81,721)
Other income, net	666	2,317	(1,017)	4,001
Total other income, net	666	2,317	(1,017)	4,001
Funeral [Member]
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,381,264		1,381,264		1,337,014
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(911)		(911)		(1,827)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,380,353		1,380,353		1,335,187
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	12,953	7,681	41,654	43,446
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(2,212)	(4,570)	(8,378)	(18,730)
Impairment charges	(157)	(151)	(803)	(725)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	2,470	2,083	18,493	10,834
Trust expenses and income taxes	(2,705)	(2,288)	(7,743)	(7,236)
Net trust investment income	10,349	2,755	43,223	27,589
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(10,349)	(2,755)	(43,223)	(27,589)
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	1,414,456		1,414,456		1,291,016
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(1,353)		(1,353)		(1,882)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,413,103		1,413,103		1,289,134
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	19,965	9,754	66,284	57,636
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(3,454)	(6,962)	(12,509)	(25,028)
Impairment charges	(218)	(189)	(1,515)	(781)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	3,171	2,247	13,615	8,308
Trust expenses and income taxes	(3,512)	(3,116)	(10,268)	(9,367)
Net trust investment income	15,952	1,734	55,607	30,768
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(15,952)	(1,734)	(55,607)	(30,768)
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	(1,225)		(1,225)		(828)
Care trusts' corpus, excluding accrued expenses	1,120,726		1,120,726		1,099,580
Care trusts’ corpus	1,119,501		1,119,501		1,098,752
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	4,871	3,328	13,772	7,522
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(966)	(1,518)	(1,728)	(5,435)
Impairment charges	0	(4)	(189)	(258)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	5,372	8,113	19,245	22,170
Trust expenses and income taxes	(273)	(727)	(1,857)	(635)
Net trust investment income	9,004	9,192	29,243	23,364
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(9,004)	(9,192)	(29,243)	(23,364)
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	666	2,317	(1,017)	4,001
Total other income, net	$ 666	$ 2,317	$ (1,017)	$ 4,001