Deferred Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trusts' Corpus (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	$ 3,139,369		$ 3,139,369		$ 3,155,528
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(2,352)		(2,352)		(6,644)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	3,137,017		3,137,017		3,148,884
Care trusts’ corpus	1,345,876		1,345,876		1,327,658
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	28,015	$ 46,390	39,897	$ 93,068
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(14,428)	(6,818)	(26,321)	(10,928)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	(3,550)	(305)	(5,052)	(935)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	32,871	25,266	50,994	42,921
Trust expenses and income taxes	(27,172)	(11,482)	(47,787)	(22,311)
Net trust investment income	15,736	53,051	11,731	101,815
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(15,736)	(53,051)	(11,731)	(101,815)
Other income, net	(109)	50	(167)	1,586
Total other income, net	(109)	50	(167)	1,586
Funeral
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,596,944		1,596,944		1,628,875
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(794)		(794)		(2,487)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,596,150		1,596,150		1,626,388
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	9,856	15,911	14,205	32,012
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(3,838)	(2,665)	(8,572)	(4,139)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	(1,023)	(119)	(1,495)	(370)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	8,820	7,900	12,882	13,474
Trust expenses and income taxes	(4,010)	(4,978)	(9,837)	(9,445)
Net trust investment income	9,805	16,049	7,183	31,532
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(9,805)	(16,049)	(7,183)	(31,532)
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0	0	0
Cemetery
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses					1,526,653
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(1,558)		(1,558)		(4,157)
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust	1,540,867		1,540,867		1,522,496
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	16,406	20,655	23,541	46,187
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(6,398)	(3,826)	(13,427)	(6,125)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	(1,531)	(179)	(2,050)	(518)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	8,262	4,981	11,778	7,476
Trust expenses and income taxes	(6,592)	(4,377)	(15,107)	(9,192)
Net trust investment income	10,147	17,254	4,735	37,828
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(10,147)	(17,254)	(4,735)	(37,828)
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0	0	0
Cemetery Perpetual Care
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(1,877)		(1,877)		(13,718)
Care trusts' corpus, excluding accrued expenses	1,347,753		1,347,753		1,341,376
Care trusts’ corpus	1,345,876		1,345,876		$ 1,327,658
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	1,753	9,824	2,151	14,869
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(4,192)	(327)	(4,322)	(664)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	(996)	(7)	(1,507)	(47)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	15,789	12,385	26,334	21,971
Trust expenses and income taxes	(16,570)	(2,127)	(22,843)	(3,674)
Net trust investment income	(4,216)	19,748	(187)	32,455
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	4,216	(19,748)	187	(32,455)
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0	0	0
Intersegment Eliminations
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	0	0	0	0
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	0	0	0	0
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	0	0	0	0
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	0	0	0	0
Trust expenses and income taxes	0	0	0	0
Net trust investment income	0	0	0	0
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	0	0	0	0
Other income, net	(109)	50	(167)	1,586
Total other income, net	$ (109)	$ 50	$ (167)	$ 1,586