Service Corporation International
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Funeral services, cemetery real estate, cremation |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Founder | Robert L. Waltrip |
| Headquarters | Neartown, Houston, Texas , United States |
Area served | United States, Canada, 20 countries across 5 continents (as of 1999) |
| Products | Funeral homes, cemeteries, cremation services, funeral merchandise |
Service Corporation International stands as a prominent American company specializing in funeral merchandise, cemetery real estate, and cremation solutions. Its main headquarters are located in Neartown, Houston, Texas, with additional offices situated in Jefferson, Louisiana. SCI manages a network exceeding 1,500 funeral homes alongside more than 400 cemeteries. This broad infrastructure underpins its dominant position within the death care sector.
Company history
The enterprise was established in 1962 by Robert L. Waltrip, initially operating a modest collection of funeral homes and cemeteries around the Houston region. By the end of the 1990s, SCI had emerged as one of the top three funeral service providers, alongside Alderwoods Group and Stewart Enterprises. As of December 31, 1999, SCI's operations included 3,823 funeral service sites, 525 cemeteries, 198 crematories, and two insurance businesses spanning 20 nations across five continents.
In 1999, SCI introduced its Dignity Memorial brand to bolster its market visibility. Between 2002 and 2006, the company concentrated on lowering net debt by more than , enhancing operating cash flow, and refining management structures to increase operational efficiency and accountability. Additionally, SCI improved corporate governance practices, reinforced internal controls, upgraded sales methodologies, and launched new training programs. Shareholders benefited from over in stock buybacks and the reinstatement of quarterly dividend distributions starting in early 2005 after a pause since 1999.
Acquisitions
SCI's growth continued with a merger in 2006 involving Alderwoods Group, its nearest rival by scale. Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initially opposed the deal due to concerns about consumer options, it later approved the merger following SCI’s commitment to divest select funeral home and cemetery assets and terminate licensing arrangements in specific markets. By 2007, Alderwoods' operations had been fully assimilated.
Further expansion occurred in 2010 when SCI acquired Keystone North America for , incorporating approximately 200 additional locations. In May 2013, SCI agreed to purchase Stewart Enterprises, then the industry's second-largest firm, for . The FTC sanctioned this transaction under conditions requiring the sale of 53 funeral homes and 38 cemeteries across 59 local markets. Moreover, a decade-long oversight period was imposed on future acquisitions within those regions to preserve competitive fairness.
Brands
SCI manages a variety of brands throughout the United States and Canada, including:
- Advantage
- Caballero Rivero
- Dignité
- Dignity Memorial
- Dignity Memorial Premier Collection
- Funeraria del Angel
- LHT Consulting Group, LLC
- Neptune Memorial Reef
- Neptune Society/Trident Society/Neptune Society of Northern California
- National Cremation
- Rose Hills Memorial Park
Notable properties
Among SCI’s significant assets are:
- Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery in Miami
- Crown Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery located in Indianapolis
- Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan, New York City
- Glenwood Memorial Gardens situated in Broomall, Pennsylvania
- Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery based in Phoenix, Arizona
- Joseph Gawler's Sons in Washington, D.C.
- Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemeteries near New Orleans
- Oehler and Lauterburg & Oehler Funeral Homes within Chicago suburbs
- Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary in Los Angeles
- Riverside Memorial Chapel located in Manhattan, New York City
- San Francisco Columbarium & Funeral Home in San Francisco
- Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery based in Dallas
- Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery situated in North Hollywood, Los Angeles
- Westwood Village Memorial Park found in Westwood, Los Angeles
- Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery located in Colma, California
Costs
A report published by Bloomberg Businessweek in October 2013 revealed that SCI’s charges for conventional funeral services averaged $6,256 (excluding the cost of caskets and cemetery plots), which was approximately 42% higher than fees charged by independent funeral providers, despite SCI operating with lower overhead expenses. This information was derived from Everest Funeral Package data. SCI countered these findings by referencing "overwhelmingly positive customer feedback" and asserted that they deliver "exceptional value" across a wide range of price tiers.
Texas
During the late 1990s, SCI encountered scrutiny over alleged breaches of Texas embalming regulations. The controversy attracted political attention due to Robert Waltrip's ties with the family of then-Governor George W. Bush and his financial contributions to Bush’s campaigns.
The scandal, often referred to as "Funeralgate" or "Formaldegate," intensified when Eliza May, a director at the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) who was investigating SCI, was dismissed from her position. May filed a civil lawsuit claiming her termination was retaliatory, linked to her refusal to halt the investigation under pressure allegedly coming from Governor Bush.
May’s legal counsel issued a subpoena for President Bush to provide testimony; however, a Texas judge dismissed this subpoena on the grounds that the governor did not possess pertinent information.
The dispute concluded in 2001 with a settlement exceeding $200,000, jointly paid by SCI and the state of Texas. Later, in 2004, the TFSC imposed an additional $21,000 fine against SCI for administrative infractions.
Florida
In January 2023, authorities from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office launched an inquiry into allegations of corpse mistreatment involving an employee at Oaklawn Funeral Home; the accused individual died by suicide on the same day, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Back in 2001, staff at Memorial Gardens Cemetery near Fort Lauderdale, Florida sold more burial plots than available, leading to improper interments and subsequent exhumations. The mishandling of remains included improper disposal that violated Jewish burial customs observed by many clients of the cemetery. To address these issues, SCI reached a $14 million settlement with the Florida attorney general’s office in 2003 to rectify and reorganize burial plots and separately agreed to a $100 million class-action settlement representing 350 affected families.
Virginia
In April 2007, SCI was sued following the improper burial of Nsombi Hale’s stillborn daughter in a shallow grave at an Alexandria cemetery. SCI denied any misconduct after conducting an internal review. Subsequently, Robert Ranghelli, an SCI employee who confirmed reports of mishandling to the press, was dismissed.
Two years later, in April 2009, The Washington Post disclosed that SCI’s National Funeral Home in Fairfax County had stored decomposing bodies under unacceptable conditions. Among these were veterans’ remains intended for Arlington National Cemetery left unrefrigerated. These revelations led families to call for a criminal probe into SCI’s handling practices.
The family of retired U.S. Army Colonel Andrew DeGraff initiated legal action alleging mistreatment of his remains by SCI. The company announced it was carrying out an internal investigation into these claims.
California
On September 14, 2009, a class-action suit was initiated against SCI and Eden Memorial Park—a Jewish cemetery managed by SCI in Mission Hills, Los Angeles—accusing them of destroying gravesites to accommodate new burials.
According to reports from the Los Angeles Times, state officials found no proof of widespread grave disturbances. Russ Heimerich, spokesperson for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, stated that evidence supporting large-scale desecration was absent. Plaintiff attorney Michael Avenatti asserted that over 800 families were part of the lawsuit and criticized the state’s inquiry as insufficient despite groundskeepers reporting discarded remains.
SCI refuted all allegations. The Consumer Affairs Department reviewed multiple years’ worth of inspection records without detecting any signs of grave tampering and noted no subsequent complaints from families after initial reports.
In January 2012, Los Angeles Superior Court granted class-action status to the lawsuit with trial scheduled for May 2012. By February 2014, parties agreed on an $80.5 million settlement.
In 2015, several families filed a follow-up lawsuit accusing SCI of continuing improper conduct after the settlement; this case remained unresolved as of 2020.
In 2024, California’s attorney general announced a settlement with SCI—operating under Neptune Society and Trident Society brands within the state—regarding allegations of deceptive advertising related to pre-need cremation package sales. The proposed agreement includes full reimbursement for customers, injunctive measures, and $23 million in civil penalties pending judicial approval.
Massachusetts
In 2010, the State Board of Registration imposed an $18,000 fine on Stanetsky Chapel in Brookline, owned by SCI, marking the highest penalty ever issued by the board. This followed an incident where a woman was buried in an incorrect grave and subsequently exhumed without informing her family. The general manager received a one-year suspension of their license, while other employees were subjected to sanctions such as mandatory training and license revocation. The case generated considerable attention from local media and intensified regulatory oversight.
Previously, in 2003, J.S. Waterman's & Sons, another SCI affiliate, erroneously cremated a stillborn infant together with an adult body. The resulting civil lawsuit concluded with a $325,000 judgment against Waterman’s for negligence and emotional harm. Additional claims under state consumer protection statutes threatened to raise the financial repercussions further. This event highlighted vulnerabilities in SCI’s operational safeguards within its Massachusetts operations.