Exhibit 99.1

           SERVICE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES INCREASE IN ITS
                            SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

    HOUSTON, June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Service Corporation International
(NYSE: SCI), which owns and operates funeral service locations and cemeteries,
announced today an increase in its share repurchase program authorizing the
investment of an additional $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.

    The Company recently completed its previously announced share repurchase
programs totaling $300 million in aggregate. Since the inception of these
programs in August 2004, the Company repurchased approximately 43.5 million
shares at a total cost of approximately $300 million, or an average total cost
of approximately $6.90 per share.

    As of June 20, 2005, SCI had approximately 299.4 million shares of common
stock outstanding.

    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 which 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 2004 Annual Report on
Form 10-K, as amended. Copies of this document as well as other SEC filings can
be obtained from 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, headquartered in Houston, Texas, owns and
operates funeral service locations and cemeteries. We have an extensive network
of businesses including 1,169 funeral service locations and 390 cemeteries in
North America as of March 31, 2005. 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 / Investor Relations
                (713) 525-9088

    Media:      Terry Hemeyer - Managing Director / Corporate Communications
                (713) 525-5497

SOURCE  Service Corporation International
    -0-                             06/23/2005
    /CONTACT:  investors, Debbie Young, Director-Investor Relations,
+1-713-525-9088, or media, Terry Hemeyer, Managing Director-Corporate
Communications, +1-713-525-5497, both of Service Corporation International/
    /Web site:  http://www.sci-corp.com /