Preneed Funeral Activities Fair Value Hierarchy (Details) (Funeral [Member], USD $)	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 950,042,000	$ 875,043,000
Fair Value, Investments, Entities that Calculate Net Asset Value Per Share, Unfunded Commitments	13,200,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	667,615,000	610,240,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	253,396,000	243,444,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Trust investments, at market	$ 29,031,000	$ 21,359,000