Deferred Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trusts' Corpus (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013
Components of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	$ 3,250,306		$ 3,253,392
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(4,677)		(2,806)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	3,245,629		3,250,586
Cemetery perpetual care trust investments	1,342,589		1,347,622
Care trusts’ corpus	1,340,361		1,345,874
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	46,678	31,729
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(4,110)	(4,213)
Impairment charges	(630)	(620)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	17,655	9,435
Trust expenses and income taxes	(10,829)	(6,625)
Net trust investment income	48,764	29,706
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(48,764)	(29,706)
Other income, net	1,534	(984)
Other income (expense), net	1,534	(984)
Funeral [Member]
Components of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,667,134		1,668,691
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(1,934)		(1,108)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,665,200		1,667,583
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	16,101	11,371
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(1,474)	(1,721)
Impairment charges	(251)	(200)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	5,574	1,817
Trust expenses and income taxes	(4,467)	(2,381)
Net trust investment income	15,483	8,886
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(15,483)	(8,886)
Other income, net	0	0
Other income (expense), net	0	0
Cemetery [Member]
Components of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,583,172		1,584,701
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(2,743)		(1,698)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,580,429		1,583,003
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	25,532	16,576
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(2,299)	(2,170)
Impairment charges	(339)	(357)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	2,495	1,529
Trust expenses and income taxes	(4,815)	(3,669)
Net trust investment income	20,574	11,909
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(20,574)	(11,909)
Other income, net	0	0
Other income (expense), net	0	0
Cemetery Perpetual Care [Member]
Components of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Accrued trust operating payables and other	2,228		(1,748)
Care trusts' corpus, excluding accrued expenses	1,342,589
Cemetery perpetual care trust investments	1,342,589		1,347,622
Care trusts’ corpus	1,340,361		1,345,874
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	5,045	3,782
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(337)	(322)
Impairment charges	(40)	(63)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	9,586	6,089
Trust expenses and income taxes	(1,547)	(575)
Net trust investment income	12,707	8,911
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(12,707)	(8,911)
Other income, net	0	0
Other income (expense), net	0	0
Intersegment Eliminations [Member]
Components of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	0	0
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	0	0
Impairment charges	0	0
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	0	0
Trust expenses and income taxes	0	0
Net trust investment income	0	0
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	0	0
Other income, net	1,534	(984)
Other income (expense), net	$ 1,534	$ (984)