Preneed Cemetery Activities Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities (Details) (Cemetery [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	$ 1,373,891	$ 1,380,655
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	225,366	227,890
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(48,079)	(54,826)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,551,178	1,553,719
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | US Treasury Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	95,784	113,621
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	1,889	1,714
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(6,555)	(8,876)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	91,118	106,459
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Foreign Government Debt Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	17,872	17,073
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	197	170
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(115)	(261)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	17,954	16,982
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	45,148	48,970
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	6,188	5,262
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(401)	(646)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	50,935	53,586
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Residential Mortgage Backed Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	395	408
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	3	2
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(3)	(2)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	395	408
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Asset-backed Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	3,317	3,346
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	81	0
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	0	(13)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	3,398	3,333
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Preferred Stock securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	14,871	16,708
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	1,216	1,106
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(45)	(123)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	16,042	17,691
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | US Common Stock Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	434,792	425,246
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	138,660	147,258
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(5,770)	(3,231)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	567,682	569,273
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Canada Common Stock Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	14,972	15,368
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	4,235	4,063
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(891)	(935)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	18,316	18,496
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Other International Common Stock Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	42,993	44,184
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	9,336	10,079
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(779)	(200)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	51,550	54,063
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Equity Funds [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	333,407	327,084
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	51,731	49,428
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(1,485)	(1,704)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	383,653	374,808
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Income Funds [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	341,016	338,944
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	7,690	5,236
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(27,343)	(33,649)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	321,363	310,531
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Private Equity Funds [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	28,281	28,625
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	3,924	3,372
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(4,686)	(5,153)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	27,519	26,844
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Other Investments [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	1,043	1,078
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	216	200
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(6)	(33)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	$ 1,253	$ 1,245