She was a missionary in China from 1907 to 1945, and founded and ran the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing in Fuzhou.

[3] Her youngest sister, Mabel Ellen Simpson, followed her into nursing and missionary work in Asia.

Mabel Simpson spent thirteen years as a Methodist nurse in India before she married in 1939.

"After a day in the hospital and a few visits out into the homes, I decided there were few things that China did need as much as nurses.

"[10] In 1911, 1917-1918 and 1926-1927, she spent time on furlough, speaking about her work at churches and to other community groups.