Preneed Funeral Activities Investment Related Activities (Details) - Funeral [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014
Investment related activities [Line Items]
Deposits to trust	$ 121,668	$ 121,109		$ 102,553
Withdrawals	157,549	160,135		131,352
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	377,813	453,092	[1]	1,238,257
Sales of available-for-sale securities	387,959	458,236	[1]	1,318,512
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	38,704	42,034		168,567
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	$ (46,432)	$ (31,403)		$ (113,748)

[1] (1)The higher level of activity in 2014 was the result of changing the legal structure of the trust investments.