Preneed Cemetery Activities Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities (Details) (Cemetery, 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	$ 1,407,179	$ 1,380,655
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	238,250	227,890
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(42,322)	(54,826)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,603,107	1,553,719
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | US Treasury Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	113,114	113,621
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	2,775	1,714
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(5,321)	(8,876)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	110,568	106,459
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Foreign Government Debt Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	18,414	17,073
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	204	170
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(130)	(261)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	18,488	16,982
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Corporate Debt Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	45,719	48,970
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	6,093	5,262
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(496)	(646)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	51,316	53,586
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	141	408
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	3	2
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(2)	(2)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	142	408
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Asset-backed Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	2,723	3,346
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	69	0
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	0	13
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	2,792	3,333
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Preferred Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	9,431	16,708
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	1,095	1,106
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(31)	(123)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	10,495	17,691
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | US Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	412,294	425,246
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	136,316	147,258
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(6,014)	(3,231)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	542,596	569,273
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Canada Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	13,280	15,368
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	4,868	4,063
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(656)	(935)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	17,492	18,496
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	34,457	44,184
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	10,020	10,079
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(528)	(200)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	43,949	54,063
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Equity Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	383,466	327,084
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	61,948	49,428
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(1,022)	(1,704)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	444,392	374,808
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Fixed Income Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	346,723	338,944
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	9,731	5,236
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(24,212)	(33,649)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	332,242	310,531
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 | Private Equity Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	26,640	28,625
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	4,827	3,372
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(3,910)	(5,153)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	27,557	26,844
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 | Other Investments
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	777	1,078
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	301	200
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	0	(33)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	$ 1,078	$ 1,245