Exhibit 99.1

                  Service Corporation International Commences
                    Cash Tender Offer for 6% Notes Due 2005

    HOUSTON, March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Service Corporation
International (NYSE: SRV), the world's largest funeral and cemetery company,
announced today that it commenced a cash tender offer to purchase up to
$150 million outstanding aggregate principal amount ($272,451,000 aggregate
principal amount outstanding) of its 6% Notes due 2005.

    The tender offer is being made pursuant to an Offer to Purchase dated
March 24, 2004, which sets forth more fully the terms and conditions of the
tender offer.  The consideration to be paid for each validly tendered Note
will be equal to $1,020.00 per $1,000 principal amount of the Notes, plus any
accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes up to, but not including, the date of
payment.  Holders that tender their Notes on or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York
City time, on Tuesday, April 6, 2004, subject to the terms and conditions set
forth in the Offer to Purchase, will receive an early participation payment in
cash of $30.00 for each $1,000 principal amount of Notes purchased.  The
tender consideration plus the early participation payment constitutes total
consideration of $1,050.00.

    If more than $150 million aggregate principal amount of Notes are validly
tendered and not withdrawn in the tender offer, the Company will accept Notes
on a prorata basis.  The tender offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City
time, on April 21, 2004, unless terminated or extended.

    The Company is currently contemplating a debt financing to ensure
sufficient cash resources for the retirement of Company indebtedness,
including the tender offer for its 6% Notes due 2005, the potential redemption
in June 2004 of its 6.75% Convertible Subordinated Notes due 2008, and general
corporate purposes.

    Questions concerning the terms of the tender offer may be directed to the
dealer manager, Merrill Lynch & Co., toll-free at (888) 654-8637 or by collect
call at (212) 449-4914.  Copies of the Offer to Purchase may be obtained by
calling the information agent, Global Bondholder Services Corporation, toll-
free at (866) 873-7700 or at (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokerage firms).

    This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of
an offer to sell securities and no recommendation is made as to whether or not
holders of the 6% Notes due 2005 should tender their Notes pursuant to the
offer.  The offer is made only by the Offer to Purchase, dated March 24, 2004.

    Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

    The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements have been made
in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements may be accompanied
by words such as "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect," "anticipate," or
"predict," that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes.  These
statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable; however,
many important factors could cause our actual results in the future to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements made herein and in any other
documents or oral presentations made by, or on behalf of, of us.  Important
factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include, among others, unfavorable market
conditions, and our ability to successfully complete the tender offer.

    For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties, see
our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our 2003 Annual
Report on Form 10-K.  We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements
made by us, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.

    Service Corporation International headquartered in Houston, Texas is the
world's largest funeral and cemetery company.  We have an extensive network of
providers including 1,239 funeral service locations, 406 cemeteries and 141
crematoria providing funeral and cemetery services in North America as of
December 31, 2003.  We also own funeral and cemetery businesses in South
America, Singapore and Germany.  For more information about Service
Corporation International, please visit our website at www.sci-corp.com .

     For additional information contact:

     Investors:  Debbie Young - Director of Investor Relations (713) 525-9088

     Media:      Terry Hemeyer - Managing Director / Corporate Communications
                 (713) 525-5497

SOURCE  Service Corporation International
    -0-                             03/24/2004
    /CONTACT:  investors, Debbie Young, Director of Investor Relations,
+1-713-525-9088, or media, Terry Hemeyer, Managing Director - Corporate
Communications, +1-713-525-5497, both of Service Corporation International/
    /Web site:  http://www.sci-corp.com /
    (SRV)

CO:  Service Corporation International; Merrill Lynch & Co.; Global Bondholder
     Services Corporation
ST:  Texas
IN:  FIN
SU:  OFR