Preneed Funeral Activities Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities (Details) (Funeral [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	$ 1,213,128	$ 1,359,271
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	33,058	121,718
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(40,439)	(42,663)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,205,747	1,438,326
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	85,775	111,824
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	468	1,299
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(455)	(5,599)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	85,788	107,524
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	90,430	100,263
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	449	81
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(874)	(1,113)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	90,005	99,231
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	24,765	64,579
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	423	3,515
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(126)	(691)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	25,062	67,403
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	1,325	2,438
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	29	23
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(12)	(33)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,342	2,428
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	6	3,407
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	0	0
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	0	(10)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	6	3,397
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	2,503	30,485
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	113	754
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(113)	(235)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	2,503	31,004
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	377,441	370,123
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	18,533	77,963
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(7,405)	(2,928)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	388,569	445,158
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	14,708	27,710
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	4,292	4,346
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(895)	(1,217)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	18,105	30,839
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	38,035	36,017
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	1,175	4,986
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(1,560)	(198)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	37,650	40,805
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Equity Funds [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	308,548	260,686
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	3,332	22,530
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(15,901)	(2,303)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	295,979	280,913
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	229,414	317,280
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	869	3,228
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(3,576)	(19,577)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	226,707	300,931
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	35,094	32,909
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	2,649	2,702
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(9,418)	(8,726)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	28,325	26,885
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Other Investments [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	5,084	1,550
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	726	291
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(104)	(33)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	$ 5,706	$ 1,808