Frank,
Meader when soft ripe is a high quality fruit. It is rated for zone 5, or -35 deg F. Another cultivar that is rated for zone 5 that I know of would be Rosseyenka, it is a hybrid between American (D. virginiana) and Russian (actually a D. kaki type growing in Russia) persimmons. The rosseyenka has diameter of 2" fruits and has been grown in zone 5 by some of my online friends.
The reason why your Meader did not survive your zone 5 could be something else. Sometimes, it is the dramatic change in the temperature from one winter day to the next. For example, a series of warm spells could thaw out the juices in the branches before they leaf out, but then this was followed by sudden severe cold, most persimmons die out. That is just one of those possibilities. So perhaps you try some protective covers like some foam insulation (examples are those used for wood floor floating laminate, you can buy those foam very cheap by the rolls) during the early years. When the trees are big enough, like 3" diameter trunk then you can stop protecting them each winter. Young persimmons are very slow growers the first few years while their fibrous roots gets massive and become established. Then they will take off like crazy and can reach enormous sizes. I am talking here about the D. virginiana types. The oriental types have similar growth patterns, but grow much smaller sized trees than the american types and their hybrids.
Joe
