Acquisitions and Divestiture-Related Activities (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		4 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Document Fiscal Year Focus				2018
Business Acquisition, Transaction Costs	$ 2,200		$ 2,200	$ 2,200
Preneed Contracts Receivables Fair Value	4,300		4,300	4,300
Preneed Contracts Receivables Fair Value, net	3,800		3,800	3,800
Uncollected preneed contract receivables	500		500	500
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net	27,416		27,416	27,416
Revenues	778,786	$ 731,346	10,400	2,369,360	$ 2,282,298
Net income	68,993	56,141	$ 1,100	254,322	299,452
Gains (losses) on divestitures, net	8,058	(62)		16,199	22,611
Impairment losses	(88)	(81)		882	17,066
Gains on divestitures and impairment charges, net	$ 7,970	(143)		$ 15,317	5,545
Number of States in which Entity Operates	4		4	4
Large acquisition cash spend				$ 82,200
Large acquisition debt acquired				49,800
Business Acquisition, Goodwill, Expected Tax Deductible Amount	$ 15,700		$ 15,700	15,700
Funeral [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of Businesses Acquired	15
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net	$ 12,100		12,100	12,100
Revenues	$ 450,956	437,529		1,433,969	1,395,167
Cemetery [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of Businesses Acquired	7
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net	$ 15,300		$ 15,300	15,300
Revenues	$ 327,830	$ 293,817		$ 935,391	$ 887,131