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, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	$ 3,021,092		$ 3,021,092		$ 2,977,612
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(685)		(685)		(4,226)
Deferred preneed receipts held in trust	3,020,407		3,020,407		2,973,386
Care trusts’ corpus	1,364,044		1,364,044		1,319,564
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	20,219	$ 28,015	34,783	$ 39,897
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(32,522)	(14,428)	(76,642)	(26,321)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	(4,714)	(3,550)	(7,996)	(5,052)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	21,375	32,871	39,498	50,994
Trust expenses and income taxes	(13,266)	(27,172)	(28,318)	(47,787)
Net trust investment income	(8,908)	(15,736)	(38,675)	(11,731)
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	8,908	(15,736)	38,675	(11,731)
Total other income, net	(535)	(109)	(746)	(167)
Funeral
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,527,271		1,527,271		1,515,113
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(384)		(384)		(1,381)
Deferred preneed receipts held in trust	1,526,887		1,526,887		1,513,732
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	6,246	9,856	13,070	14,205
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(10,201)	(3,838)	(29,852)	(8,572)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	(2,082)	(1,023)	(3,200)	(1,495)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	5,955	8,820	8,728	12,882
Trust expenses and income taxes	(3,752)	(4,010)	(8,194)	(9,837)
Net trust investment income	(3,834)	(9,805)	(19,448)	(7,183)
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(3,834)	9,805	(19,448)	7,183
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0		0
Cemetery
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust, excluding accrued expenses	1,493,821		1,493,821		1,462,499
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(301)		(301)		(2,845)
Deferred preneed receipts held in trust	1,493,520		1,493,520		1,459,654
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	11,673	16,406	17,919	23,541
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(18,596)	(6,398)	(41,449)	(13,427)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	(2,632)	(1,531)	(4,681)	(2,050)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	1,355	8,262	3,715	11,778
Trust expenses and income taxes	(1,367)	(6,592)	(6,220)	(15,107)
Net trust investment income	(9,567)	(10,147)	(30,716)	(4,735)
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	9,567	(10,147)	30,716	(4,735)
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	0	0		0
Cemetery Perpetual Care
Component of Other Income, Nonoperating [Line Items]
Care trusts' corpus, excluding accrued expenses	1,363,428		1,363,428		1,319,427
Accrued trust operating payables and other	(616)		(616)		(137)
Care trusts’ corpus	1,364,044		1,364,044		$ 1,319,564
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	2,300	1,753	3,794	2,151
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	(3,725)	(4,192)	(5,341)	(4,322)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	0	(996)	(115)	(1,507)
Interest, dividend, and other ordinary income	14,065	15,789	27,055	26,334
Trust expenses and income taxes	(8,147)	(16,570)	(13,904)	(22,843)
Net trust investment income	(4,493)	(4,216)	(11,489)	(187)
Investment Income, Nonoperating, Effect on Deferred Preneed Receipts Held in Trust and Care Trust Corpus'	(4,493)	4,216	(11,489)	187
Other income, net	0	0	0	0
Total other income, net	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	(535)	(109)	(746)	(167)
Total other income, net	$ (535)	$ (109)	$ (746)	$ (167)