Like Water for Chocolate - An Unsatisfying Ending

I did enjoy the book Like Water for Chocolate but I was disappointed with the ending.  To have Tita and Pedro end up together only to die is not a satisfying ending for me.  I hate books that end in that way.  In class, someone mentioned the Nicholas Sparks books/movies, which I thought was interesting since I have read a book or two written by him and have watched almost every movie that has been based on one of his books.  I really like the movies but tend to get pissed off somewhat with the endings as usually someone ends up dying.  I have enjoyed some of the movies but the majority of the ones I have watched made me feel the way I felt when I finished Like Water for Chocolate.  I just don't get why authors seem to feel the need to have characters die when it doesn't seem necessary for the story.  Don't get me wrong, there are some cases where a character dying fits into the story and it adds to the plot in a way that if the character didn't die, the story would be lacking or the entire storyline would not be what it is without the character dying.  Those stories I have no problem with and they don't cause me to be left unsatisfied with the ending.