Preneed Funeral Activities Investment Related Activities (Details) - Funeral [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013
Investment related activities [Line Items]
Deposits to trust	$ 121,109	$ 102,553		$ 82,168
Withdrawals	160,135	131,352		125,914
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	453,092	1,238,257	[1]	393,169
Sales of available-for-sale securities	458,236	1,318,512	[1]	435,267
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	42,034	168,567	[1]	65,011
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	$ (31,403)	$ (113,748)	[1]	$ (9,732)

[1] (1)The increase in activity in 2014 is the result of changing the legal structure of the trust investments.