AUBURN – Clara Harnden Desjardins, 89, of 41 Pleasant St., passed away on Oct. 4, at the Androscoggin Hospice House, with her daughter by her side. Before passing, she enjoyed a last visit with her granddaughters, Rachael, Nadia and Amy and her son, Skip and his wife, Kathy, which always lifted her spirits and gave her such pleasure.

She was born in Newburyport, Mass., on July 29, 1917, to Laura and Ralph Harnden. She was educated in Auburn schools and graduated from Edward Little High School, Class of 1937. She married Paul Desjardins on Dec. 29, 1945.

Her passion in life was to dance. The year of her high school graduation marked the first dance recital she was to present in a career that spanned 60 years. She loved the children she taught and her patience with them was endless. She especially loved the hugs she would receive after the lessons and enjoyed all the friends she made while serving three generations in her studio. There was never a place that she would go that someone wasn’t asking “Clara, do you remember me? I took dancing from you.”

She was a member of the Auburn Senior Citizen Club and a lifetime member of the Maine Dance Teachers Club, where she was respected and loved by all who met her.

She is survived by her daughter, Belinda Ouellette, and her husband, Neal; a son, Paul E. Desjardins Jr., and his wife, Kathy, of Albany, N.Y.; four grandchildren, Eric Ouellette, and his wife, Amy, Nadia Ouellette, and her partner, Jason Wheeler, Corey Desjardins and Rachael Desjardins; three great-grandchildren, Ryan Desjardins and Logan and Grace Ouellette; and a sister-in-law, Aileen Harnden.

She was predeceased by her husband, Paul; her parents; and a stepbrother, Bradford.