Preneed Funeral Activities Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities (Details) (Funeral, USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	$ 1,286,540	$ 1,343,887
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	138,269	121,718
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(34,008)	(42,663)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,390,801	1,422,942
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | US Treasury Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	107,491	110,511
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	1,996	1,299
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(3,517)	(5,599)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	105,970	106,211
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Foreign Government Debt Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	99,308	100,263
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	217	81
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(963)	(1,113)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	98,562	99,231
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Corporate Debt Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	47,997	64,042
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	3,617	3,515
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(374)	(691)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	51,240	66,866
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	1,610	2,408
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	28	23
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(21)	(33)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,617	2,398
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Asset-backed Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	2,733	3,366
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	50	0
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	1	(10)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	2,782	3,356
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Preferred Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	20,045	30,107
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	1,959	754
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(30)	(235)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	21,974	30,626
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | US Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	324,908	364,721
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	74,621	77,963
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(6,053)	(2,928)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	393,476	439,756
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Canada Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	23,088	27,634
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	5,686	4,346
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(810)	(1,216)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	27,964	30,764
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Other International Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	29,487	35,519
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	5,825	4,986
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(391)	(199)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	34,921	40,306
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Equity Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	292,246	257,256
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	31,697	22,530
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(1,230)	(2,303)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	322,713	277,483
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Fixed Income Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	302,917	313,606
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	8,555	3,228
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(13,698)	(19,577)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	297,774	297,257
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 | Private Equity Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	30,640	32,909
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	3,619	2,702
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(6,920)	(8,726)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	27,339	26,885
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 | Other Investments
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	4,070	1,545
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	399	291
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	0	(33)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	$ 4,469	$ 1,803