Cemetery Perpetual Care Trusts Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities (Details) (Cemetery Perpetual Care, USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	$ 1,255,874	$ 1,266,716
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	131,188	101,437
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(7,518)	(15,614)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,379,544	1,352,539
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | US Treasury Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	1,260	1,588
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	22	9
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(10)	(14)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,272	1,583
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Foreign Government Debt Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	30,104	28,487
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	359	301
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(230)	(459)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	30,233	28,329
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Corporate Debt Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	24,351	43,196
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	498	312
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(344)	(263)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	24,505	43,245
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	1,335	4,258
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	23	14
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(10)	(19)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	1,348	4,253
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Asset-backed Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	1,988	3,006
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	64	5
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	5	(11)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	2,047	3,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 | Preferred Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	9,416	25,952
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	647	192
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(2)	(252)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	10,061	25,892
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | US Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	198,797	231,156
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	57,359	53,782
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(1,027)	(2,087)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	255,129	282,851
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Canada Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	7,166	8,846
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	2,724	2,222
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(418)	(623)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	9,472	10,445
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Other International Common Stock Securities
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	13,031	20,676
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	2,173	1,319
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(78)	(167)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	15,126	21,828
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Equity Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	57,472	41,282
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	6,980	5,693
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(381)	(35)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	64,071	46,940
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 | Fixed Income Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	877,712	819,439
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	55,818	35,963
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(510)	(2,598)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	933,020	852,804
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 | Private Equity Funds
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	23,591	28,309
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	2,177	472
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(4,494)	(9,002)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	21,274	19,779
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 | Other Investments
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	9,651	10,521
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains	2,344	1,153
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Losses	(9)	(84)
Available-for-sale Securities, Fair Value	$ 11,986	$ 11,590