Cemetery Perpetual Care Trusts Investment Related Activities (Details) - Cemetery Perpetual Care [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014
Investment related activities [Line Items]
Deposits to trust	$ 41,450	$ 38,883		$ 42,220
Withdrawals	48,522	40,447		46,981
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	428,635	247,658	[1]	1,306,314
Sales of available-for-sale securities	374,329	175,057	[1]	1,396,669
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	8,327	6,933		134,259
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	$ (6,579)	$ (7,708)		$ (51,093)

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