Exhibit 99.1

      Service Corporation International Announces Share Repurchase Program

    HOUSTON, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Service Corporation
International (NYSE: SRV) (SCI), the world's largest funeral and cemetery
company, today announced a share repurchase program authorizing the investment
of up to $100 million to repurchase its common stock.  The Company plans,
subject to market conditions and normal trading restrictions, to make
purchases from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated
transactions.

    Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements
    The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements have been made in
reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be accompanied
by words such as "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect," "anticipate," or
"predict," that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These
statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable; however,
many important factors could cause our actual results in the future to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements made herein and in any other
documents or oral presentations made by, or on behalf of us.  Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include, among others, unfavorable market
conditions, the market price of our common stock, the nature of other
investment opportunities presented to us from time to time, and the
availability of funds necessary to continue purchasing stock.
    For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties, see
our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our 2003 Annual
Report on Form 10-K. Copies of this document as well as other SEC filings can
be found on our website at http://www.sci-corp.com . We assume no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any
other forward-looking statements made by us, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

   Service Corporation International (NYSE: SRV), headquartered in Houston,
Texas, is the leading provider of funeral and cemetery services in the world.
We have an extensive network of businesses including 1,212 funeral service
locations and 402 cemeteries in North America as of June 30, 2004.   For more
information about Service Corporation International, please visit our website
at http://www.sci-corp.com .

     For additional information contact:
     Investors:  Debbie Young -- Director of Investor Relations
     (713) 525-9088
     Media:  Terry Hemeyer -- Managing Director / Corporate Communications
     (713) 525-5497

SOURCE  Service Corporation International
    -0-                             08/16/2004
    /CONTACT:  Investors, Debbie Young, Director of Investor Relations,
+1-713-525-9088; or Media, Terry Hemeyer, Managing Director of Corporate
Communications, +1-713-525-5497, both for Service Corporation International/
    /Web site:  http://www.sci-corp.com /
    (SRV)

CO:  Service Corporation International
ST:  Texas
IN:
SU: