Alice C. Green was born in 1908 to George Campbell Gordon and Lucy A. Hunter. She had one brother named John. The family lived in Huntley, two miles from Alberton, Prince Edward Island. George died in 1916, leaving Lucy to raise their two children and run the family farm. She sold the property in 1926 and moved with Alice and John to Alberton.

Alice graduated from the Prince County Hospital School of Nursing in 1931. She worked as a private nurse for a few years before returning to high school for one year to upgrade from Grade 10 to Grade 12. After deciding to enter missionary work, Alice spent a year in Toronto at the United Church Training School. Her first appointment was in Ethelbert, Manitoba where she served on staff at a small mission hospital working with young people in the Ukrainian Canadian community. Her next appointment was in Gypsumville, about 160 miles north of Winnipeg. During her two years at Gypsumville, Alice was in charge of a nursing hospital located fifty-six miles from a doctor and seventy miles from a hospital. In addition to her work as a nurse, Alice kept house, conducted church and funeral services, sometimes performed the duties of an undertaker, visited people