Preneed Cemetery Activities Investment Related Activities (Details) (Cemetery [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Cemetery [Member]
Investment related activities [Line Items]
Deposits to trust	$ 106,185	$ 98,130	$ 98,121
Withdrawals	119,576	98,738	109,382
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	477,772	746,761	595,683
Sales of available-for-sale securities	498,852	700,091	525,534
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	101,337	87,665	67,167
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	$ (14,593)	$ (29,397)	$ (46,889)