Service Corporation International

For other uses of the acronym SCI, see SCI Service Corporation International is North America’s largest provider of end-of-life arrangements and services. Based in Houston, Texas, United States, SCI operates more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries in 43 states, eight Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico. Robert L. Waltrip, a licensed funeral director who grew up in his family’s funeral business, founded the company in 1962. SCI began as a small network of funeral homes and cemeteries in the Houston area. As SCI grew its offshore presence, it continued to acquire businesses... in North America—a marketplace that, by the late 1990s, had become extremely competitive among companies seeking to buy death care businesses. SCI, Alderwoods Group and Stewart Enterprises emerged from this period as the three largest companies in the industry. On December 31, 1999, SCI owned and operated 3823 funeral service locations, 525 cemeteries, 198 crematoria and two insurance operations located in 20 countries on five continents. In 1999, SCI also introduced Dignity Memorial, the first transcontinental brand of death care services and products in North America.
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